Not All Heroes Wear Capes
by here2stxy
Summary: Percy never asked to be a son of Poseidon, and the death of his mother at the hands of his step father only adds to his hate towards the Olympians. What will happen when Kronos decides to use Percy instead of Luke for his plans? Percy/Piper, Rated M just in case
1. Daddy Issues

Chapter 1

I was never a fan of comic books. Growing up poor, I could never afford to buy them anyway, but I had always seen them as gross portrayals of true justice.

Superman could save Lois Lane hundreds of times, and yet there were hundreds of thousands of trafficked women whom he never acknowledged. Batman could throw the Joker into Arkham Asylum every issue, and yet he never swooped in for the teenager cornered in a New York alley by a group of gang members. Spiderman could take down the Green Goblin, and yet there were kids living in cardboard boxes on street corners.

You could call me a pessimist. I'm just being realistic.

My mother was someone I thought of as a true heroine. She worked three jobs to support a boy and her abusive and lazy husband with no acknowledgement at all. No "Woman of Steel" or "Friendly Neighborhood Sally" in sight, and yet she worked herself to death every day, only to come home to a fat, rude drunk who demanded she fire up some meatloaf.

As far as villains go, Gabe didn't seem like much. He was a fat, balding man who wore the same white shirt everyday and refused to work. Instead of taking on the mantle as the "man of the house", he spent his days playing poker and drinking away Mom's paychecks.

The fact that he had previously held down a job as a law enforcement officer did not glorify the justice system to me to say the least.

All it took was an hour of a cold autumn night to completely turn my life upside down.

I stepped into the house after a particularly tiring day of school, doing my best to keep my head down. After years of living with Gabe, you learn that avoiding his gaze is usually the best way to go about things.

"Hey, kid!" I sighed and turned around. Gabe was in the middle of a game of poker, swigging from a bottle.

"Yeah?"

Gabe fixed me with a glare. "In my household, you address me with 'sir', you got that?"

I gritted my teeth. "Yes, sir."

Gabe beckoned me forward and I reluctantly stepped closer. The musty scent of body odor and beer filled my nostrils as I approached and I could feel a gag coming on.

"Give me your money."

"I don't have any."

He slapped me across the face before grabbing my head and pulling me closer.

"Don't lie to me. I saw Sally sneak some bills into your pocket when you left this morning."

"I spent it all on lunch, Gabe. I need to eat too," I said with barely controlled rage.

One of the men across the table glared at Gabe. "Lay off the boy. I'll give you some money if that's what you want."

Gabe didn't bother glancing at him. "Nah, Ed. Kid needs to learn respect. Don't you lie to your father, boy."

He reached into my pocket and whipped out 2 twenties and a five. "See this, Ed! He claims he spent it all! I saw my wife sneak some bills to him thinking I wouldn't notice! Boy seems to believe that because he's in high school he can lie to his father's face."

He pushed me away before stuffing the money into his own pocket. "You tell your mother about this, and I'll beat the tar out of her."

I felt blood rush into my head. "Beat me all you want, but don't you dare threaten my mother, you pig!" I snarled.

Gabe raised an eyebrow before standing up. "Fellas, get out of here. Percy here needs to learn some respect."

His friends began to file out, but Ed merely stood up and faced Gabe. "Don't touch the boy."

Gabe slugged Ed, who fell to the floor. "Don't tell me what to do, Ed! He's my kid, and he needs to learn a few lessons. Now, get out of here!"

Ed glared at him from his spot on the floor. "I'm not leaving."

Gabe's eyes narrowed. "Ed, you and I both know you have some secrets you don't want unearthed. You stay here or report me to the police, I will forget you are my friend, and you don't want that to happen, now do you?"

Ed screwed his eyes shut before standing up. "Sorry, Percy," he muttered before exiting the room.

Gabe slammed the door shut before shoving me across the room. "You've got a lot of nerve, boy."

"Says the former policeman turned abusive drunk. Tell me, do you ever look in the mirror and realize what a hypocrite you are?"

Gabe laughed. "Life isn't kind to the do-gooders. It rewards people like me, who do whatever they can to get what they want. Look at me! I've got a beautiful wife who listens to my every word and brings home the dough and I get to sit here and do whatever I want every single day!"

"You're disgusting."

Gabe grabbed me by the collar before sending a punch into my face. My head snapped to the side before I was thrown into a wall.

"You've really got the balls today, kid. What made you so brave? Got a girlfriend? Finally got a good grade in school?"

I groaned as my head screamed in pain. Gabe kicked my side. "Get up, boy! Strike me! Show me just how brave you're feeling! Be a hero!"

He grabbed my hair and dragged me into the kitchen. "You will treat me with the respect I deserve!"

"I already am."

Gabe roared in anger before slamming me onto the dinner table. He grabbed a knife from a drawer and started towards me.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Mom rushed through it.

"Gabe! What are you doing?!" She grabbed his arm and tried to wrench the knife free.

"The boy thinks he can talk back to me, and I'm just teaching him a little respect!" He threw Mom off of him before turning back to me and raising the knife.

"Maybe a few scars will teach him to fear me!"

Suddenly, she tackled Gabe, sending the knife skittering across the floor.

"You-You dare?!"

Gabe grabbed her and shoved her off of him. He lunged before wrapping his hands around her throat, squeezing as hard as he could. I rolled off the table and got to my feet. I felt my mind suddenly snap as I watched my mother go limp, her eyes staring glassily into open space.

Gabe let out shuddery breaths before turning back to me. I let out a scream and I felt a tug in my gut. Water streamed out of the bathroom, solidifying into spikes of ice. I threw my arms towards him and the spikes buried themselves into Gabe.

His dead body fell to the floor, an expression of shock still etched onto his face

I took a shaky step back. My breathing quickened, my eyes glued to the gory scene before me.

I half expected the police to burst in, slapping handcuffs onto my wrists, but the room was as quiet as a tomb. Outside, people were heading home from work, getting dinner, hanging out with friends, completely unaware of what had just happened.

I glanced down at my shuddering hands before staring at the spikes sticking out of Gabe.

_Did I really do that? What just happened?_

I slowly backed away from the kitchen before running out the door. I dashed through the hall and skidded down the steps. My shoe caught on the staircase rail and I felt myself tumble down the stone stairs.

I frantically got to my feet and continued to run, no care whatsoever where I was going.

People stared at me strangely as I ran through the crowded New York streets, tears streaming through my eyes.

It was dark by the time I stopped running, clasping my sides as I tried to breathe. I thought about Gabe's pierced body before I threw up.

With the energy I had left, I dragged myself to a park bench before laying myself down.

I stared into the endless black sky. Not a single star shone through the New York haze

_Oh, the irony, _I thought bitterly. _The only light in my life was snuffed out. I get it!_

I felt a laugh slip from my lips and I broke down into hysterics. People walking by avoided the bench and hurried away from what they presumed was a maniac.

My voice grew hoarse as my peals of laughter began to turn into croaks.

I don't know how long I laughed, but I do know that once I stopped, tears began flooding down my face.

_So this is how that stupid clown from Batman felt._

I pondered the prospect of going completely insane, slaughtering thousands of people just to show this cruel and indifferent world a taste of what I had been through.

_No, I'd never do that. I'm not Gabe._

That's when the thought came to me. The ice had originated from water that had come from the bathroom. Did that mean I could do that voluntarily?

_Only one way to find out, I guess._

I picked myself off the bench before heading towards the nearby lake. I sat down next to it and raised my hands.

The water didn't react at all. I tried to imagine the water bending to my will before raising my hands again. The water lifted a little before splashing back down.

_So close._

I closed my eyes and thought about Gabe.

_That stupid pig. The ignorant, abusive drunk who killed my mother, the kindest, most loving woman to ever walk the planet._

I growled before thrusting my arms up. A large stream of water flew out of the lake before splashing down.

I felt more tears prick my eyes. How could a world reward a hard-working, loving, and kind mother by subjecting her to the abuse of a drunk who throttled her to death?

"This is all my dad's fault," I said aloud. Getting these thoughts out of the confines of my mind felt undeniably refreshing.

"Fuck you, Dad. If you just stayed around and decided to take responsibility for your family, Mom would still be alive. I know for a fact she kept all the pictures of you; she still loved you!"

The water in the lake began to boil. "Of all men, why did she have a kid with you? Why couldn't she just get a break?"

I stamped my foot and the water began to steam. "If you stayed around, she never would've had to remarry! Why couldn't you just be a man and take care of your wife?!" I punched the tree next to me and the water flew at the tree, cutting it clean in half like a knife through warm butter.

I took a deep breath and the water began to cool down.

"That was some display."

I whipped around and saw a blonde boy about my age standing over me.

"My dad never cared about me either. He left my mother, who went insane shortly after."

My eyes narrowed. "You don't know anything about me."

He raised his hands. "I'm sure I don't know everything, but there is one thing I'm certain about. You're a demigod."

I wanted to laugh in his face. A demigod? My mom had dated some bearded dude who wore Hawaiian shirts. There was no way in hell he was a god.

"You may not believe me, but your water powers should be a sign that I'm telling the truth. Your dad is a water god."

I looked back at the lake. A water god?

"I'm a son of Hermes. Your dad is probably a minor god of water judging from Poseidon's oath to not have children."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kid, there's no easy way of saying this, but the Greek gods are real. In fact, Mount Olympus is on the 100th floor of the Empire State Building. A big hobby of theirs is to have sex with mortals and allowing them to deal with the consequences,"

"What consequences?"

"Demigods have a strong scent that we get from our godly parents, which attract every nearby monster. Great parting gift, am I right?"

"I've never met a monster before, unless you count my stepdad."

The boy had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Am I correct in guessing he was extremely smelly?"

I did a double take. "How did you know?"

"Demigods' scents are very strong, but they can be covered with an extremely unpleasant smell of a mortal. Your mom was either very smart or very lucky in marrying him."

I felt like I had been hit by a train. My mom married the abusive asshole on purpose to protect me from monsters?

I wanted to sob but decided that breaking down in front of a stranger wasn't exactly a great reaction.

"Listen, there's a safe place for people like us called Camp Half-Blood. I've been working as a counselor there recently. The borders prevent monsters from-"

A growl from behind me raised the hairs on my neck.

"Don't turn around," the blonde hissed.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the water grabbing whatever the hell was behind me.

The sound of rushing water filled my ears as the beast behind me yelped. I turned around and watched as a hand of water gripped the yelping black hound before splashing back down, presumably taking it down into the watery depths.

The boy merely stared at me. The look on his face was comedic to say the least.

"You're going to attract flies with your mouth open like that," I remarked dryly.

He shut it before extending his hand. "I'm Luke."

I took it in a firm grasp. "Percy."

Suddenly, Luke grabbed my shoulders. "You've got to come with me. I've been helping my friend Grover save some demigods, and there's no way we're going to leave you out here alone."

I shrugged him off. "Woah, I barely know you. I'm not going to go anywhere with you just yet."

Luke fixed me with a pleading look. "I can't just leave you out here to fend for yourself."

For some reason, that rubbed me the wrong way. I had been left to fend for myself for all my life, but now that I had amazing powers, people wanted to protect me?

I shoved him back. "I don't need your pity, nor do I want your help."

Luke sighed before drawing his sword. "We're going to have to do this the hard way."

He took a swipe at my legs and I jumped back. I tried to summon the water again, but nothing happened.

"Listen, I don't want to hurt you, but you need to come to Camp! We can't have you falling into the wrong hands!"

I jumped away from the blade. "So, I'm just a weapon too dangerous to be lying around in the city? I'm not even a person to you?"

Luke didn't respond. He slashed at me again, and I leapt into the lake.

I felt myself sink towards the bottom as I watched Luke cross his arms and stand at the edge, presumably to wait me out.

After a 2 minutes, I couldn't hold my breath any longer and began to swim back towards the surface.

_Wait, if I really am the son of a water god, does that mean…_

I took a small breath and grinned. I could breathe underwater.

As a kid in New York, I had never really gone to swimming pools, but being in a body of water felt amazing. I could feel pure power running through my veins, and it was exhilarating.

I burst out of the water before willing a watery hand to wrap around Luke. His sword fell to the ground as I raised him up into the air.

"For the last time, I'm not going anywhere with you, so here's the deal: I'll put you down and you are going to get the hell out of here."

Luke didn't bother struggling. "No, here's the actual deal. If you let me go alive, I will inform the Camp of your existence and you will eventually be hunted down, so you're going to have to kill me."

I stared at him. It would only take a few minutes to hold him at the bottom of the lake and drown him, or a few seconds to spear him with ice, but killing people wasn't who I was.

With a sigh, I dissolved the hand gripping Luke and fell back to the ground. He picked up his sword and sheathed it.

"See, I knew you weren't going to kill me," I felt shivers go down my spine. "You don't look the type."

"Thanks," I muttered. We settled into silence as Luke caught his breath. It seemed like being squeezed by water wasn't the most pleasant experience.

"Look, you can choose to stay here in the city, waiting for monster attacks to come multiple times a day, or you could come with me and be in a safe place where you can master your powers."

I thought about that. The water powers were cool and all, but other than its response to my emotions, I really didn't know how to use them.

"Alright, I'll go with you, but if this is a trap, I promise the last thing I'll do is take you down with me."

Luke chuckled. "Fair enough. Let me hail a taxi."

Line Break

After a few hours of driving, the taxi stopped in a deep forest.

"Are you sure you want to stop here, kid?"

Luke nodded and handed him some cash. "Don't worry about us, this is where we want to be."

The taxi blazed off and I glanced suspiciously at Luke. "Why are we in the middle of the forest?"

"The Camp is shielded from mortal eyes. It just takes you a few seconds to see it.

He began trudging towards the deep forest and I began following him. Knowing I had water powers at my disposal was a small consolation, but I was still pretty nervous. Luke seemed to know exactly what he was doing and I still couldn't summon water at will.

A few minutes passed before Luke stopped. "Do you see it?"

He was standing in front of a hill and I looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, the air around the hill began shimmering until a gated stone entrance appeared. "Oh."

Luke grinned. "I wasn't joking about anything I said. Come on, let's go. There are some people, ah, half people I want you to meet."

That didn't sound reassuring, but I followed him in regardless.

The place looked like a summer camp on steroids. Lava flowed down a steep climbing wall, the clang of swords rang out of an open-air pavilion, and a fat man was playing poker with a horse.

"Uh, who are they?"

"The chubby one is Dionysus, the god of wine and our camp director. The centaur is Chiron, our trainer."

My mother had told me about Greek myths long ago, but I never knew that the knowledge would come in handy.

The two looked up from their game and the centaur smiled. "Hello, Luke. Who is this?"

"This is Percy. I found him in Central Park."

"Any idea who his godly parent is?"

"He was practicing water control when I found him, so I'm assuming he's the son of a water god."

Dionysus yawned before snapping his fingers, procuring a Diet Coke from thin air. "Given Barnacle Beard's oath, kids probably the son of a minor god. Put Parker in the Hermes cabin, with all the other no-names.

This guy was really rubbing me the wrong way. Luke looked like he wanted to start yelling before I snapped my fingers.

Diet Coke exploded out of the can and Dionysus leaped back with a yelp.

Chiron attempted to stifle his laughter. Luke had no such willpower as he rolled on the ground in fits of laughter.

The wine god glared at me as his eyes burst into purple flames. "You dare, insolent boy?"

I rolled my eyes. "I do. What are you going to do, blast me out of existence?"

"Worse! I will drive you insane before turning you into a cockroach which I will spend eternity running over with a cement mixer!"

Chiron held Dionysus back. "Now, now, Lord Dionysus. The boy is new here and clearly doesn't know about the authority of a god's power," he nodded at Luke. "Give Percy a tour, will you?"

"Yes sir," Luke said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Let's go, Perce."

As Luke was explaining the climbing wall, the forges, and the sword arena, I couldn't help but think about what Dionysus had said. Was I a no-name? Who was my father? Would it be worth dying to stab Dionysus in the balls with ice shards?

"And this is where you'll be staying!"

I looked up at the large wooden building Luke had stopped at. He opened the door and stepped inside. Despite its massive size, the floor was filled with sleeping bags and personal items. Many of them were vacant, but there were still a good 20 people inside.

Luke looked at my expression and grinned. "Hermes is the god of travelers and pathways, and we take all unclaimed kids in our cabin as well as the children of Hermes."

"Which gods get cabins?"

"All 12 Olympians get their own cabin."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "What about the minor gods?"

Luke rubbed his neck sheepishly. "We're kind of going off of a millennium old system, which doesn't honor the minor gods or goddesses."

My eyes narrowed. "No recognition at all?"

He raised his hands. "Hey, I'm not in charge of the system, I'm just a cog in it."

I nodded slowly. "Alright. Thanks, Luke. I'm going to head down to the canoe lake to practice my powers."

He nodded. "It's great to have you here, Percy. You're a part of a big family, just remember we're all here for you no matter what."

I gave him a small smile before heading towards the lake. The thought of all those sleeping bags on the floor irked me. All those kids in there, some who had no idea who their parents were, others whose parents were deemed unimportant.

_The nerve of these gods, so much for divine purity. They're no better than children, running around and knocking up pretty girls and leaving them all the responsibilities._

I shook my head and saw that I was at the bottom of the lake. A few aquatic-looking girls floated by, watching me in wonder.

I gave them a smile before sitting cross-legged in the middle of the lake.

_Whatever god you are, you'll never be my father. The best mortal woman to walk this earth died to 3 men last night; Gabe, me, and you. I couldn't save her in time, but you didn't even bother making an appearance._

I felt the water around me begin to churn. The fish who had been circling around me with curiosity swam away frantically and the water spirits disappeared in bursts of bubbles.

_Only one has been put to justice, and I'll make sure the two of us will answer for our crimes._

"_Ah, justice."_

I started as a new voice entered my head.

_Are you the asshole who gave birth to me?_

"_No, Percy. I am Kronos, your grandfather."_

I raised an eyebrow. _Liar. To be my grandfather, my dad would have to be Poseidon, and I was told he swore an oath to not have any more kids._

Dark laughter filled my head. "_Ah, how naive you are. Poseidon may have swore an oath, but he broke it a few centuries later. The gods are mere children, even with the thousands of years of living. Your father saw Sally Jackson and broke his oath without thinking twice."_

My hands clenched. _Is there anything about my father that isn't absolute trash? _I snarled.

"_Unfortunately, there isn't. The gods are unfit for rule, and it's time for the true rulers to take over once more. You can help me usher in this new golden era; no more sickness, no more death, no more pain. The minor gods have already sided with me, and you've seen their children. They are thrown away into the corners of that forsaken Camp, unloved and unappreciated."_

_Hold up, I'm not helping you with anything. I don't know anything about you._

"_I am the lord of time, the father of the Olympians, the king of the Titans. Help me, and I can bring back your mother, allow you to wreak vengeance on your father. All you have to do is join me."_

_How can I trust you?_

"_I swear on the Styx you will be a leader of my army and that my promises are genuine."_

Thunder boomed overhead. _What is the Styx?_

"_Find out yourself."_

The voice faded from my head and I opened a fist I didn't know I was making. In my hand was a silver bracelet accented with a scythe charm.


	2. Temptations

Chapter 2

Many days passed since that day in the lake. I spent the days either training with Luke in the sword arena or mastering my water powers and at night, I slept on the floor of the Hermes cabin.

Luke had done me a solid by procuring for me a sleeping bag and some toiletries, which were an extremely welcome change from the bare wood floor.

I kept the bracelet inside my sock at all times. Having the sons of the god of thieves as bunkmates wasn't exactly reassuring, and thus I made sure the bracelet was hidden away at all times.

A day never went by where I thought about Kronos' offer. After further research with the help of some Athena kids, I learned just how binding an oath on the Styx was. He wouldn't simply throw an unbreakable oath like that around, and I knew he meant business.

I had finished the afternoon getting my ass handed to me courtesy of Luke Castellan (the guy was a hell of a swordsman) and proceeded to head out towards the deep woods.

After a good distance away, I pulled the bracelet out of my sock. My Greek mythology wasn't perfect as most of it came from my mother when I was a small child, but I knew enough to realize that committing myself to Kronos' cause would lead to the end of the world as I knew it.

The Athena kids were an intelligent bunch to say the least, and I knew that the reign of the Titans had suppressed humanity as well as the gods. Civilization would cease to exist, and I would be bringing about a change that would rock the world to its core.

After a few minutes of thinking, I slipped the bracelet on. Immediately, the air grew cold and a harsh voice began speaking in my head.

"_So, you've accepted my offer? Will you help me to tear down Olympus brick by brick?"_

"What are your plans for humanity?" I asked aloud.

Kronos chuckled. "_Ah, yes. Humanity. Quite revolting, isn't it? Let me ask you this, why do you want humanity to stay?"_

I didn't say anything. "_Your step-father, Gabe, wasn't it? He said it himself, humanity rewards the evil and punishes the good. What did you do to deserve an abusive life? What did your mother do to deserve being strangled?"_

My fists balled. "Don't you-"

"_Can't you see, Percy? This "civilization" that has been built for thousands of years is a curse! The world has become a travesty under the gods, and once I rule again, there will be peace and order. I promised you your mother, that is it."_

I thought about that. It was true, the world wasn't a good place to live in. Millions died everyday to starvation, disease, and other humans. What was there to like about the world? What had humanity, other than my mother, done for me? Why did these lecherous and irresponsible gods deserve to rule?

"_You know I speak the truth, Percy."_

I screwed my eyes closed before letting out a sigh. "Alright, but I would like a slight change to my reward."

"_What more could you want other than the destruction of your father and the ressurection of your mother?"_

"My mother may not be with me anymore, but she will forever be at peace. I don't want you to raise her from the dead; instead, I want a promise that you will leave the dead to their own devices. You won't disturb them once you take over and you will leave them to their eternal devices, good or bad."

Kronos was silent for a second. "_It will be as you requested."_

"Alright, you have yourself a deal. Do I need to swear on the Styx or something?"

He merely laughed. "_I don't need an oath from you. First off, if you were to betray me, you would merely be slowing the inevitable and bringing about a more painful demise for yourself. Secondly, your fatal flaw will prevent you from ever betraying me."_

I raised an eyebrow. "What's my fatal flaw?"

"_You are too loyal, and since you've had no time to form new connections since your mother's death, you will be completely subservient to me through your very nature."_

"How is loyalty a fatal flaw?"

"_You would be surprised at the things people will do for those they are loyal to. Now, for your first task."_

Line Break

I gritted my teeth as I walked into the Aphrodite cabin, the smell of strong perfume filling my nostrils.

The frivolity of the Aphrodite cabin was well documented at Camp, and having spies in the most unlikely places was a smart strategy, but how could Kronos expect them to keep any secrets when they were the gossip group to end all gossip groups?

"How can I help you, hon?" an Asian girl with dark hair batted her eyelashes at me. "I'll give you a massage, free of charge."

I shook my head. Stereotypes always seemed to stem from a certain truth; in this case, the apple hadn't fallen far from its tree.

Nevertheless, I put a sickly grin on my face. "Actually, I would like to receive the services of a certain Silena Beauregard. Is she here?"

Drew placed a hand on my shoulder. "That stuffy head counselor isn't in to that kind of stuff, but I'm willing to show you a good time if you'll let me."

"Nonsense."

Both of us looked up to see Silena step into the cabin. "If he came all the way here to see me, I'll let him have an audience. Everyone, clear out of here."

The Aphrodite kids immediately began filing out, whispering to each other excitedly. Drew threw a glare at Silena and a sweet smile at me before following.

Silena pushed me into one of the chairs and began to massage my shoulders. "So, what are you really here for? Something tells me you aren't the erotic type."

I grinned. "Quite perceptive, aren't you? Here I was thinking all the Aphrodite kids were a dense bunch."

Silena slapped me lightly on the head. "Not all of us are. Anyway, what is it you want to talk to me about?"

"Can I get an oath that a repeat of this conversation will never occur?"

I could feel Silena frown. "What is this about?"

No words came from my mouth as I waited for an answer. Curiosity, as it always seemed to do, won Silena's mind. "I swear on the Styx I won't tell anybody about this unless you permit me."

Thunder boomed overhead and I sighed. I turned around in my chair to face her. "Living in the Hermes cabin has helped me learn a lot about the gods. Don't you ever feel like you're worth little more than cannon fodder? We serve as the gods' army, and yet we receive no reward. In fact, their blood running through our veins only attracts death itself. I've come to care about some of the campers here, and I would fight to the death for them. Wouldn't you do the same?"

Silena nodded slowly. I decided it was best to continue. "Western civilization is a disease, Silena. My step father brutally murdered my mother a few weeks ago, but that's only in my life."

She opened her mouth to say something, but I held up a hand. "Let me finish. We train and serve the gods, and yet we never decide to help the people. Don't you want that, to help the innocent?"

Silena nodded again. "Well, I am giving you an opportunity to have that," I said, opening my fist to reveal a bracelet with a scythe charm. "Be a part of the new Golden Age. The demigods will be spared, I have Kronos' word."

Merely a half-truth, only those who served his cause would be spared, but I decided to run with it.

Silena backed up nervously, staring at the bracelet like it would explode any second. "Woah, Percy, I can't-"

"What's stopping you?" I crossed my arms. "These gods have no love for us, Silena. Any moment, they can take us and sacrifice us to save their own asses. Take, for example, your secret boyfriend, Beckendorf."

Silena paled. "How did you know about that?"

I shrugged. "I have my ways. Don't worry, I'm not going to blackmail you with this information, I am merely offering you a choice. If the gods thought it was for the best, they would cut him to pieces and toss him into the sea, or put him on the front lines of an all out war. Tell me, don't you want your loved ones to be safe? Kronos is inevitable, Silena, whether you decide to help him or not. He will rule, and I am merely offering you a place in his eternal empire."

Silena stared at me. "Who are you?"

"I'm Percy Jackson, and you can let me know what your decision is anytime. Just know, the clock is ticking and Kronos is not a patient god."

I exited the Aphrodite cabin only to meet a crowd of girls at the steps. "Did Silena, you know, work her magic?" a teenage daughter of Aphrodite asked.

I winked at her. "If you ask me, I worked some of my magic on her."

Drew glared at the door in hatred as the rest of the girls began rushing back in.

"What's so special about her, huh?" she asked bitterly. "Why her over me?"

"_Take advantage of this," _Kronos suddenly said. "_Emotions are easy to wield to your advantage, and the more spies we have, the better."_

I internally nodded before slinging an arm over her shoulders. "Can I talk to you about something? Preferably in private?"

Drew's eyes almost seemed to glow with pride as she stared at me hungrily. "Anything."

_This is almost too easy._

Line Break

It was dark when I headed back towards the table with a plate of brisket. The Hermes table was overflowing, as usual, but Luke had saved me a spot next to him.

"What the hell, Percy? What was taking you? I had to fend off kids all night from this spot!"

"Some of us are trying to get claimed by their deadbeat dads, you know," I grumbled as I took a seat. "And I'm only 7 minutes late."

Luke accepted this answer and began digging into his food. "You know, some special someones have been staring at you ever since you came in here."

I knew exactly who he was referring to but I played dumb. "Really? Who?"

Luke jerked his thumb towards the Aphrodite table. "Silena and Drew have been scoping you out. Silena looks kind of confused while Drew's been salivating like a hungry wolf. What trouble have you gotten yourself into, Perce?"

"Hades if I know. I can't help if I'm a chick magnet."

Luke guffawed. "You dig okay, Ponyboy. I knew you'd fit in at Camp in no time."

I smiled before taking a bite of brisket. We sat in silence, taking in the ambience of the pavilion.

"You're really going to love it here, Percy. Just watch."

I felt a stab of guilt before swallowing it. There was no room for attachments when I had a major task at hand.

"I'm sure I will."

"You ready for Capture the Flag tonight?"

I rolled my eyes. "You kidding? I've got to test out these badass water powers on someone, right?"

The campers finished eating quickly before streaming towards the armory. Being on Luke's team, I picked out a helmet with a blue plume.

Chiron cantered around the entrance to the woods as the campers began to assemble. "Alright, demigods, you know the rules! Whoever takes the opposing sides' flag and crosses the river is the victor! Please avoid maiming and killing at all costs. If you are beaten in battle, you will be put into the other sides' jail, where you will remain for the rest of the game. Good luck, and wait for the horn blow to begin!"

The Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Demeter, and Dionysus cabins headed to one side of the woods while the rest of the cabins went the other way.

The plan was for most of the Hermes cabin to stay by the river and cover anyone crossing it, and I had already stepped in and summoned two swords of hardened water. All of the weapons in the armory felt too heavy and awkward for me to use, so I decided that I could make do without them.

The horn blew and I braced myself. All was quiet until I heard the sound of crunching leaves and war whoops. Definitely the Ares cabin.

Soon, the air was filled with clanging swords and I had to parry the jabs of a spear before I could be turned into a Percy kabob.

"You are so dead, new meat," the head counselor of the Ares cabin snarled. Her name was Clara or Crystal or something like that.

I dodged a jab before going on the offensive with my dual swords. "Don't count on it, Clarity."

"It's Clarisse!" she snarled before spearing me in the leg, sending jolts throughout my body. I growled before throwing my swords at her. She dodged them, right into a stream of icy water I blasted at her.

She hit a tree with a gasp of pain. I picked up her electric spear and snapped it across my knee. I winced as volts of electricity shot through my body.

Clarisse was struggling to get up and insult me at the same time. "You...dead...kill...feel sorry…"

I rolled my eyes before swinging the blunt end of her spear into her helmet. She crumpled and her body disappeared, presumably to the jail.

Suddenly, everyone dropped their weapons in shock as they stared at me. No, not at me, but above my head.

I looked up and saw a glowing trident hologram above my head. Big surprise.

Luke crossed the river with a whoop of joy until he and his pursuers stopped to stare at the hologram in shock. "That's-How-" Luke stammered.

Chiron cantered out of the woods before taking a knee. "Hail, Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, earthquakes, storms, horses, and aquatic life."

Everyone stared at me in shock and I braced myself for the incoming onslaught.

Immediately, shouts of indignation filled the air.

"Percy is a son of Poseidon?"

"How is that possible?"

"I'm going to kill the guy!"

"Calm down, campers!" Chiron boomed. Immediately, the forest grew silent. "Team Blue has won. The time has come for you to go back to your cabins. Percy, if I could have a word with you."

Everyone began streaming out of the woods, staring at me with wonder, hatred, pity, or all three.

I followed Chiron back to the Big House where Dionysus was seated. "Well, well, well, Preston. I hope you have procured some manners since the last time we met."

I sat down in the chair across from him as Chiron remained standing. "You are in quite a bit of trouble, Peter."

"My name's-"

"My father, Zeus, has had his precious Master Bolt stolen, and he has a strong suspicion that you are the culprit."

I raised an eyebrow. The gods weren't very good at identifying traitors and what they had done.

"I didn't steal his bolt, I just got here a few weeks ago, how would I?"

"He is currently in, ah, a slight quarrel with Poseidon and thus any one of the sea god's spawn is under suspicion."

"That's pretty stupid of him."

Lightning flashed outside. "Careful who you insult, boy. The gods are not beings to be taken lightly."

_I'm so sure._

Suddenly, Luke burst through the door. "Chiron! The oracle just gave me a prophecy!"

The centaur stared at him strangely. "Why would you go to her at this hour?"

"I didn't, she just staggered up to me as I was headed back towards my cabin."

"What did she say?"

That confused me. "There's an oracle at Camp? How come I've never seen her?"

Luke and Chiron looked a bit uncomfortable, but Dionysus merely yawned over his wine magazine. "The oracle has been cursed to carry the Spirit of Delphi by my spiteful Uncle Hades, and thus, she is now a wizened corpse wrapped in linen who dwells in the attic. Don't worry, she's no longer alive. The Spirit merely takes control occasionally to give prophecies."

Chiron ignored him, addressing Luke. "What did she say?"

"You shall go west, and face the god who has turned, You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned, You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end," Luke recited, looking at Chiron hopefully. "Isn't that a good thing? The stolen item is clearly the Master Bolt, and that means it'll stop Poseidon and Zeus from going to war!"

"How did everyone know about this except me?" I asked.

"Clearly, because you stole it," Dionysus mused. Luke glared at the wine god.

"Percy didn't steal the bolt! He's been with me since before he got to Camp, and when I met him, he had nothing except the clothes on his back!"

"He could've hidden the bolt."

I kept a blank expression on my face. It was a lot easier to feign innocence when I truly was. "How smart do you think I am? I just got claimed today!"

Dionysus rolled his eyes. "A likely story. The boy clearly stole the bolt."

"I swear on the Styx I didn't steal the Master Bolt."

Thunder boomed overhead as Chiron stared at me with a shocked look on his face. "Percy, the River Styx isn't a lie detector test! It's a very serious oath with repercussions that-"

Looking at Dionysus' shocked expression, I decided that was my cue to leave. I stepped off the porch and headed towards the Hermes cabin.

Line Break

Luke had helped me move my few personal items into the Poseidon cabin. I didn't really need his sleeping bag since I now had 4 bunk beds all to myself, but it was his welcoming gift for me, so I took it with me.

"Well, I guess I was wrong about your parentage, and the gods' abilities to be abstinent."

_Maybe there's hope for Luke yet._

"Anyway, drop by anytime. Hermes is open to anyone!" Luke pulled me into a bro hug before heading back to his cabin.

I shut the door before flopping down onto the bed. I was immediately immersed in darkness and I decided now was the best time to iron out some wrinkles in my head. _Why didn't you let me know about the Master Bolt?_

"_It is merely a chess piece in my master plan. By having no knowledge of it, you had the perfect facade of innocence, and you surely will have Chiron and Luke's full trust."_

_Great, so what's the next phase of the plan?_

"_Soon, Luke will embark on his quest to retrieve the Master Bolt along with Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, only there will be a key flaw to their plan. I'm sure you've noticed that my voice has grown weaker. I used the majority of my essence to appear in Ares' dreams, insisting that stealing the Master Bolt would be the key to starting a great war that would greatly increase his power. He will give it back to the three questers in a few days, disguised as a bag of supplies as a reward for completing some idiotic side quest for him."_

_What is your endgame, my lord?_

"_With the gods busy feuding one another, you will help resurrect me and I will take down the gods while they are divided. However, for now, I need you to go on a quest of your own. I will return with your mission soon. Be ready."_

I started awake, realizing that it was already bright out.

_Weird, only felt like a few minutes._

I climbed out of bed and stretched. My body still ached from my first taste of real battle, which was nothing a dip in the lake couldn't fix.

I stretched and headed towards the pavilion to grab a bite to eat. The first thing I noticed was that Luke was not present at the table. He had probably left early this morning to start his quest.

After a quick breakfast alone at the Poseidon table, I sprinted towards the lake and jumped in. Immediately, the tension in my shoulders relaxed and the soreness in my muscles faded away.

After a few minutes of relaxing, I got out of the water and began working with my powers. Water now followed my movement at will, though it wasn't as smooth as I wanted it to be.

I summoned a ball of water that hovered above the lake. With a few motions of my hands, I changed its shape into a stream and blasted a nearby tree with water.

A nature spirit stepped out of the trunk and glared at me as she shivered. I gave her an apologetic look before raising my hand, sucking all the moisture out of her dress and hair.

For some reason, I couldn't turn the water into ice like I had done with Gabe. My guess was that it could only be done with my strongest emotions, but I hadn't even come close to turning water into ice since.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves filled my ears as Chiron cantered up to me. "Hello, Percy. I just would like a moment of your time."

I nodded and waited to hear what he had to say. "Luke has left with Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood to find the Master Bolt, and hopefully, the Lightning Thief along with it. I just wanted to say that I apologize for the blame that has been placed on you. It was just strange for a god to take so long to claim their child, as demigods are usually claimed around 12 years old."

_Great, even by the standards of the other gods, my dad's a deadbeat._

"I just wanted to let you know that the message of your oath has been delivered to Zeus. You won't have to worry so much about the accusation anymore."

Chiron reached into a saddle bag on his, ah, horse end and pulled a ballpoint pen out. "I thought that a gift was in order. After all, every demigod has their own weapon, regardless of the powers they possess."

I raised an eyebrow. "You want me to write people long stories so that they die of boredom? Or am I supposed to go Dark Knight on people and stab them in the eyes?"

Chiron laughed before uncapping the pen. It quickly morphed into a glowing bronze sword. "This is Anaklusmos, or Riptide as it's more commonly referred. It was once wielded by Hercules and is a sword of great power. I thought that your ocean background fit its history well."

He tossed me the sword and I caught it by the hilt. Unlike the other swords in the armory, it was surprisingly light and the handle almost welded itself to my fingers.

"This is awesome. How do I get it back into pen form?"

"Tap the end of the sword with the cap."

I followed suit and it shrunk down into a pen. "What happens if I lose it? The pen is pretty small."

Chiron chuckled. "No worries about that, it will always return to your pocket if you lose it."

"Thanks, Chiron," I said, feeling another stab of guilt.

"No problem, Percy. It is I who should be apologizing to you for the accusations you suffered last night."

The centaur galloped off and I was left alone once more. I chucked the pen into the lake and waited. Almost immediately, I felt the pen resting in my pocket.

_Pretty handy weapon. I guess the old guy was feeling sentimental, or something._

That's when instinct took over my brain and I dove to the side as a spear buried itself in the place where I was standing. I sprang back up and glared at my attacker. "Really, Clarisse? While I wasn't looking?"

The daughter of Ares snarled. "All's fair in war, Prissy. It's time I get my revenge for last night."

She whipped out a sword and advanced. I did my best to parry her strikes, but she was very good with a sword. She sliced a cut on my arm and I winced.

"Aw, what's the matter, does little Prissy have a boo boo?" she laughed.

I didn't bother saying anything and instead crouched down and swept her off her feet. I quickly summoned a torrent of lake water and blasted her in the face. Before she could even breathe, I grabbed her by her breastplate straps and tossed her into the lake, watching her sink quickly towards the bottom.

I was thinking about letting her drown, or even speeding up the process, but I decided that killing a camper wouldn't be the best way to avoid suspicion.

Flicking Riptide to the side, I dove into the lake and swam up to Clarisse, who was struggling to undo the straps of the heavy metal holding her down. I grabbed her by the arm and willed the water to spit us out. I dropped her onto the ground before capping Riptide.

Clarisse was staring at me in surprise. "Why did you save me?"

I chuckled darkly. "I'm thinking the same thing. Don't attack me like that again, or next time, I won't be helping you out of the water."

Clarisse's look of wonder morphed into a scowl. "I didn't need your help, Prissy. I easily could've gotten out on my own."

I rolled my eyes before offering her a hand. "This never happened, agreed?"

Clarisse' glare softened before she allowed me to help her up. "Agreed."

A/N: Hey guys! I'm pretty excited about this story, and I hope you are too. Leave a review with some of your ideas or feedback, as it serves as a great motivator (plus, your ideas may be featured in the story!). Thanks for reading!


	3. Pegasi, Pigeons, and Griffins, Oh my!

Chapter 3

Eyes bugged when Clarisse and I walked out of the woods talking and laughing like old friends. Our Capture the Flag scuffle had been spread by the Ares cabin (with a few modifications to make their head counselor look better), and most people had been expecting a fight to break out between us.

Well, they weren't wrong.

_Clarisse honestly isn't half bad. A little rough around the edges, but she's a pretty good person. She would be a great addition to Kronos' army, but she loves that idiot Ares too much._

"If you want to spar at the arena, you let me know and I'll gladly hand your butt to you."

I wagged a finger. "That's not what happened in the woods a few minutes ago."

Clarisse glared at me. "You were lucky you had a body of water near you. In the arena, I'll make sure you're in for the fight of your life."

I gave her a lopsided grin. "Ditto. See you around, Clarisse."

She returned the smile before heading back to her cabin.

The minute she disappeared, I studied the wound on my arm. She had slashed a cut pretty deep into my forearm, but my dip in the water had been enough to transform it into a pale white scratch.

_I guess the old deadbeat did _something _good for me after all._

Suddenly, I felt the charm in my sock start to grow warm. I ran back into the Poseidon cabin as quickly as I could before whipping the bracelet onto my wrist.

"What is it, my lord?"

"_I have my new mission for you, and it is a very important one. My minions have retrieved my sarcophagus from the Underworld, and it is now residing on a cruise ship called _The Princess Andromeda. _You will be its captain when the time comes, but first I need you to find 2 powerful demigods for me._

"Who are these demigods, and where are they located, my lord?"

"_There is a son of Hephaestus named Leo Valdez, and a daughter of Aphrodite named Piper McLean. Their parentage may not amount to much, but they are extremely powerful in their own right. Both are particularly troublesome, and thus are enrolled in a corrective school in Nevada. Make haste, lest that pitiful Camp you reside in gets to them first."_

"I won't fail you."

The charm stopped glowing and I stuffed it back into my sock before opening the door. Facing me was a mummified corpse in a saggy dress.

I fell back and scrambled away, uncapping Anaklusmos and waving it around.

"Be gone, Satan!"

Suddenly, green smoke began pouring out of its mouth as its eyes glowed with an ethereal light.

_Child of the sea, beware your choice,_

_Olympus to burn, Olympus to hoist._

_The forge and dove, hidden away,_

_Many beasts you will have to slay._

_Out west lie the allies you seek,_

_A war to come, a world to sleep._

Just as quickly as it happened, the smoke dissipated and the oracle collapsed onto my porch.

I gingerly stepped around the body before sprinting towards the archery range, which Chiron was overseeing.

"Hello, Percy. Care to join us?"

"Ah, no thanks. The Oracle of Delphi decided to jump scare me in my cabin before giving me a prophecy.

All the demigods lowered their bows and stared at me. Chiron's face quickly grew troubled. "I have never seen the Oracle give prophecies so close to one another. It's only been around 10 hours since Luke received his. What did she say?"

I repeated the prophecy and Chiron's face quickly grew dark.

"It seems like you have a journey in front of you. The forge and dove are usually representative of Aphrodite and Hephaestus, though they are both accounted for. More than likely the prophecy is referring to demigods of theirs."

_Good thing I know exactly where to go. "West" isn't exactly the most specific location._

"Head to the entrance of Camp in about an hour. Argus will have supplies ready for you by then."

"Can you also have him remove Cleopatra from my porch? I mean she's great and all, but I don't necessarily find the whole, 'dead body possessed' thing attractive."

Chiron nodded before cantering off. I decided that checking up on some of my favorite daughters of Aphrodite would be a good start.

I knocked on the door of their cabin and Drew answered. "How can I help you, hon?" Drew gave me a sultry smile.

"I need to talk to you for a moment. Would you mind coming with me for a minute?"

"Of course."

We began heading into the woods behind their cabin and after a good distance, I turned to face her. "Alright, Drew, I'm going to be shipping out on a quest in about an hour, so I need you to report everything that is going on at Camp," I pulled out the scythe bracelet.

"These aren't just used for aesthetics. The charm is a communication device and all you need to do is press on it to contact me. I want to know everything, understood?"

Drew pouted. "You're so much hotter when you're not so serious."

I rolled my eyes. "Just do your part. I'll have you know that Kronos isn't lenient on slackers."

Drew crossed her arms. "Fine, I'll tell you everything that happens here. I'll miss your cute face around here, though. I guess I'll be hanging around with the Apollo boys for the time being."

"Stick with them, they seem more your type."

She laid a hand on my shoulder. "The only 'type' I find attractive is you, I just need to keep myself busy while you're gone," she winked.

I glared at her. "Don't think for a second that I have any feelings for you whatsoever. I offered you a place in Kronos' empire because he needs spies, not because I find you attractive."

Drew giggled. "I love men who are hard to get. Don't worry, sweetie, you'll be mine."

I snorted before heading back towards Camp. "Why did I even bother asking you?"

After some searching, I found Silena reading a book at a picnic table near the volleyball courts. I sat down across from her and cleared my throat.

"Have you considered my offer, Silena?"

She closed her book and slid it away from her. "If joining Kronos is going to prevent him from slaughtering the lot of us, I'll...I'll join."

I grinned at her. "Brilliant! I knew you were smart when I first met you."

Silena looked solemn. "If war with Kronos is coming...I just don't want any of the people I love to get hurt. People here are like my family, and I can't just let them be used as meat shields."

"You're doing the right thing, Silena," I grabbed her hand. Her eyes widened in surprise and she began to pull away until I slipped something into her hand. "Don't let anyone see this, but Kronos will be visiting you soon. Be ready."

Line Break

I didn't have very much to pack. I rolled up the sleeping bag Luke bought me and through it into a backpack and headed towards the camp entrance.

Waiting for me was a tall man that looked like a professional surfer. He had tan skin, sun-bleached blonde hair, and Camp clothes. Oh yeah, and he had blue eyes all over his body.

"Uh, what's up, dude? You have my stuff?"

Argus nodded before handing me a decent sized. I saw Chiron approaching with an amused look on his face. "I see you two have already met. Argus, would you mind getting Percy one of the pegasi?"

He nodded and headed towards the stable. "As a son of Poseidon, you should be able to ride any equine beast without any experience. I guess we'll put that to the test."

He eyed the two bags I had slung across my shoulder. "The backpack Argus gave you is enchanted, and you should be able to fit a lot of materials inside of it. You won't need two bags weighing you down on this journey."

I raised an eyebrow before opening the Camp backpack and taking out the sleeping bag from my own backpack. "Uh, how am I going to fit this in here?"

"Just try."

I opened the mouth of the bag and began shoving the sleeping bag inside. It immediately disappeared from my hands and I dropped the bag in surprise.

"Magic is a powerful force, Percy. That bag happened to be stolen by a son of Hermes, which we found in the attic of the Big House."

"Uh, thanks, Chiron."

Suddenly, the old trainer's face grew very serious. "Now, Percy, about the prophecy."

I threw the backpack strap over my shoulder and looked at him with fake curiosity.

"The first line troubles me greatly. It says to beware a choice that will potentially lead to Olympus' survival or destruction. Now, prophecies often have double meanings, but you must be very careful when-"

Suddenly, the sound of neighing filled the air as Argus lead a black horse with wings towards us by its reins.

"_Let me go, you freak!"_

I pointed a thumb at the horse. "How can he talk?"

Chiron merely smiled. "He can't."

"_I'll stomp out those eyes of yours if you don't back up!"_

"I can hear him talking loud and clear."

"As a son of Poseidon, you not only have control over all horses, but you can understand them as well."

The pegasus eyed me. "_You smell like the ocean. Are you my boss?"_

"Uh, I'm Percy Jackson, son of Posei-"

"_What's up, Boss!" _The pegasus reared up and flapped its wings. Argus dove for cover and I quickly grabbed the reins to keep it from flying away.

"_I'm Blackjack, and I'll be your trusty steed!"_

"I'm flattered, thank-"

"_Do you have any jelly donuts?"_

"I don't, unfortunately."

"_Can we get some? I've been living on hay for the past couple of years, and I can use something that tickles my tummy!"_

I climbed onto the pegasus' back and grabbed the reins.

"Uh, I'll be leaving, now. Thanks for the help, Chiron. You too, Argus."

Chiron smiled while Argus simply nodded. "Good luck, Percy, and may the gods be with you!"

I instinctively whipped the reins and Blackjack took off into the sky.

"_Where to, Boss?"_

"Any idea where Nevada is?"

"_Yup! That's where my friend Porkpie hangs around! I'll need to take a couple breaks on this journey, though. It's a pretty far trip."_

I nodded before the two of us settled into a comfortable silence.

"_So, Boss, you ever met Lord Poseidon before?"_

Anger blurred my mind before I sighed deeply. Now wasn't the time to be spiteful or angry. "No, I haven't, actually."

"_He's my grandfather!"_

I almost fell off of Blackjack's back. "What are you talking about?"

"_When Poseidon was dating Medusa, he got a little down and dirty with her. Athena cursed her to look like, well, Medusa, and when Theseus cut her old head off, my uncle and my father, Pegasus, were born!"_

"That's kind of disgusting. Who's your uncle?"

"_Uh, let's not talk about him. He's a little cuckoo, if you know what I mean."_

I was silent for a second. "Did Poseidon ever visit your father?"

Blackjack was silent for a minute. "_I don't know. He never mentioned it, and I've never even seen Lord Poseidon before."_

_Why am I not surprised?_

I didn't say anything as Blackjack flew across the cloudy afternoon sky.

Line Break

The sky was growing dark when Blackjack spoke again.

"_I'm going to land. I think I need to take a break for the night, if that's ok with you, Boss."_

"That's fine. Take us down, Blackjack."

The Pegasus landed smoothly in a grassy field and allowed me to get off before he laid down.

"_I haven't travelled like that in a while, Boss. I usually just chill in the stable, but I promise after a day or two I'll be flying faster, longer, and stronger!"_

"It's alright, Blackjack. Just go with what's comfortable for you."

"_You're the best, boss!" _he began to graze and I sat down and opened my pack.

I pulled out my sleeping bag and stared at the pitch blackness where the floor of the pack was supposed to be. I turned the bag upside down, and immediately, tons of food, water, a flashlight, medical supplies, and extra camp clothes tumbled out.

I began putting everything back into the bag with the exception of an MRE when I noticed a plastic bag filled with money and gold coins. I ignored the coins and pulled out the cash and started counting.

_Camp must have a huge racket going on. How else would they give a single quester $5,000 for his journey?_

I stuffed the bag back into the pack before preparing the water heating pouch for the MRE.

"Blackjack, do you have any idea how much time we'll have before reaching Nevada?"

The pegasus looked up with a tuft of grass in his mouth. "_I'd say about 3 or 4 days."_

"Alright, thanks, Blackjack."

"_No problem, Boss," _he said before going back to his grazing.

I finished preparing the beef ravioli, and to be completely honest, it was nowhere near as bad as I thought. I guess only freeze dried ice cream tasted like garbage.

I was about to stretch out in my sleeping bag when I heard a rustling noise from a couple yards away. Blackjack's eyes widened in alarm and he backed up towards me.

With a flick of my wrist, I uncapped Riptide and turned on the flashlight.

Nothing approached. After a few more minutes, I tucked the flashlight back into my bag. "It was probably just a field mouse, or something."

Before Blackjack could respond, a large, snakelike creature with a frill around its head lunged at me. I swung Riptide and cut the thing's head off. It writhed for a second before going still.

"What the Hades is that?"

"_You better stay away from those things, Boss. Those are basilisks. They're super poisonous and can kill you with a few bites."_

"We should get out of here and find a better place to stay."

"_I couldn't agree more, Boss."_

I climbed onto Blackjack's back and after a short flight, we found a small motel. "You can chill on the roof. There's a donut shop nearby, so I'll make sure to get you some for breakfast tomorrow."

"_You're the best, Boss!"_

He flew up to the roof and I pulled out some money before heading inside. "Can I get a room for one, please?"

The man at the counter nodded and handed me a key. For a motel, everything was actually relatively clean. The elevator ran smoothly, there was no paint on the wall, and cockroaches weren't feasting on a fallen bag of chips in a corner.

Or maybe that was only New York.

I collapsed into my bed and closed my eyes.

The blackness melted away, revealing the familiar streets of New York. I began wandering down the sidewalk when a man with a hat and overcoat roughly bumped into me.

I grabbed him by his coat and knocked his hat off. The man's face was featureless, with a slab of flesh over where his face should've been.

"_Now, that wasn't the way you greet your master, is it?"_

I immediately fell to a knee. "My apologies, sir."

The man kicked me in the face before grabbing me by my shoulders.

"_Child, listen closely to what I have to say. Tomorrow night, Ares will give Luke Castellan and his friends the Master Bolt in the form of a backpack. Once they visit the Underworld, I plan to keep it there. The bag is enchanted to come to me, and thus whoever is wearing it will be pulled under as well. The unlucky wearer will be accused of being the Lightning Thief, and thus a war will begin."_

I had to admit, I knew the Titan was evil, but he was dang smart.

"Your genius is unparalleled, my lord."

"_I don't need your flattery, boy. The point is that with war coming so soon, I need a strong army to hold up against Olympus until I can reform. Get those two demigods soon, or there will be hell to pay."_

I started awake. The thought of the world ending so soon was surreal to say the least, but if Kronos willed it, I had no say over the matter.

I threw on some new clothes and grabbed my bag. I grabbed a dozen jelly donuts from the store down the street and headed towards the motel roof.

"Hey, Blackjack, I got you a little something."

If pegasi could cry, Blackjack would've. "_You're the best, Boss," _he neighed before beginning his demolition of the donut box.

After a few minutes, the entire box was gone. "Is it ok for horses to eat cardboard?"

"_Cardboard supplies many vital nutrients."_

I rolled my eyes and climbed onto his back. "Alright, Blackjack, let's get this over with."

As we were flying through the sky, a sharp whistling sound caught my ear.

"_Boss, watch out!"_

I ducked my head and a sharp object that looked like a feather flew by my head. I looked behind me and saw a flock of pigeons following us, only each one was the size of an eagle.

"Uh, Blackjack? Those aren't normal pigeons, are they?"

"_Stymphalian birds. They have dagger feathers, bronze beaks, and poisonous poop."_

I frowned. "That last one doesn't sound very accurate."

"_If you want to put that theory to the test, be my guest, Boss._

Blackjack folded his wings and dropped his altitude. My ears popped and my knuckles paled as I clutched the reins as hard as I could.

I heard a cooing noise and suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my back. With one hand wrapped up in the reins, I reached behind me and yanked out a few feathers which were embedded in my skin.

"Got any ideas how to get rid of these things?"

"_Hercules killed them somehow, but I got nothing for you."_

I thought for a second before an idea came to mind. I reached into my backpack and whipped out an MRE pouch.

"_As much as I love food myself, now's not the time to be snacking!"_

"Blackjack, try to fly steadily. I need both my hands for this."

I unwrapped the reins and whipped out the water heating bag from the pouch.

"_Boss, they're coming in!"_

The bag began steaming and I grinned. "I always loved cooked chicken."

"_Boss, those birds have a clear shot at us now!"_

I wrapped a hand with the reins and summoned the steaming hot water out of the bag. With a flick of my wrist, I slapped several of the birds with the hot water, sending them tumbling from the sky, screeching in pain.

One of the birds a feather at my face and I redirected it with a bolt of water. I shot the rest of my water at the remaining Stymphalian birds, and they fell like rocks from the sky. When the horizon remained clear of monsters, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"_Boss, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your back is pouring blood all over me."_

I couldn't see my injuries, so I took out a bottled water and poured it down my back. Instantly, I felt relief wash over my body as the wounds closed.

"_Thanks for the mini shower, Boss."_

I rolled my eyes and wrapped the reins back onto my left hand. "I never thought that Ancient Greece had pigeons, giant ones with sharp feathers, no less."

"_Monsters tend to change their appearance with time."_

"Good to know. If we run into Medusa, will she have Kim Kardashian's face?"

"_Boss, what are you talking about?"_

"Nothing. Do you need anything, Blackjack?"

"_I'm fine. The birds seemed very focused on killing you."_

"I'm kind of irresistible like that."

Blackjack rolled his eyes, which I'd never seen a horse do before. "_Very funny, Boss. Very funny."_

"I'm hilarious, Blackjack. You'll get to know that this week."

"_Joy."_

"Not to sound like a little kid, but how far do you think we are from Nevada?"

"_I'd say we're around the Indiana area."_

"Dang, Blackjack. You're pretty fast."

"_I'm a winged horse, Boss. Of course I'm pretty fast."_

I rolled my eyes and whipped a new shirt out of my bag. "I'm really going to be burning through these," I muttered, throwing the torn shirt away and putting on the new one. "Hopefully that doesn't hit a plane windshield or something."

"_We're not in the same altitude as airplanes, Boss."_

"Whatever."

After hours of flying, my stomach began to grumble. "Yo, Blackjack, take us down. I need to eat something."

"_Sure thing."_

The pegasus landed in a field to graze while I whipped out an MRE. I was just about to bite into a beef taco when a brilliant rainbow appeared in front of my eyes. It shimmered before what looked like a screen appeared on it. "Percy!"

My eyes widened in confusion before I grinned. "What's up, Luke?"

"We're kinda trapped in a car wash right now, and we have absolutely no money left."

"Where are you guys? If you're nearby, I can drop you some money."

"We're in Colorado right now, so we're nowhere near camp."

"Well, I'm sorry to say I can't help you, but I'm not at Camp."

Luke looked confused. "Really? Where are you right now?"

"I'm somewhere in Indiana. I got put on my own quest a few hours after you did and I'm heading for Nevada."

Luke opened his mouth to say something when his eyes widened. "Percy, duck!"

I rolled to the side as a sharp blast of air buzzed the side of my head and destroyed the rainbow.

A monstrous creature with the head and the wings of an eagle and the body of a lion began circling me.

"Great, it's a fucking griffin."

I uncapped Riptide and waited for the monster to make its first move. I didn't have to wait long.

The monster lunged at me, and I rolled away only to get hit in the face by the end of its tail.

Now, I know what you're thinking. It's just a wad of fur, right? How could it possibly hurt?

Well, try getting slapped in the face with a broomstick and tell me how it feels.

I coughed and faced the griffin with bleary eyes. It was in mid lunge, about to pierce me with its claws.

I rolled away again and grabbed Riptide. Suddenly, the bottle of water I had been about to use caught my eye. I eyed the griffin, who stared back at me hungrily.

Slowly as to not let it catch my movement, I raised my hand towards the bottle. The griffin merely stared at my head like it was a Thanksgiving turkey.

The water suddenly burst from the bottle and shot itself at the griffin with the power of a high-pressure hose.

It screeched and reared back. Without a moment's hesitation, I drove Riptide into its chest.

The beast roared before bursting into dust. I let out a deep breath.

_Thank the gods that's over._

"_Boss! Are you alright?"_

Blackjack cantered over. "_I wanted to help, but it looked like you had the whole thing covered."_

I spat out some hair that had gotten in my mouth. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is there a single state in this continent that doesn't have something that wants to eat you?"

"_Well, they are attracted to your strong sea scent. Maybe you should find something to mask it."_

"I would think that hanging around a sweaty horse would be enough to cover it up."

"_Hey, no need to get personal, Boss," _Blackjack neighed. "_By the way, I found something you might want to see."_

I followed Blackjack to a thick patch of grass. He began pawing through it with his hoof before nudging a few bones, a broken sword, and a purple shirt out of it.

It had been slashed to pieces, which made me assume the shirt's wearer had been victim to the griffin. I turned it around and saw the letters "SPQR" inscribed onto it with golden letters.


	4. Destination: Sin City

Chapter 4

I picked up the blade and studied its shining gold surface. "Judging from the sword, this person was a demigod, but why did he have this weird shirt on?"

"_Maybe he found it a thrift shop, or something."_

Something about the shirt troubled me, but regardless I laid it back down in the grass before grabbing my supplies.

"How are you feeling, buddy?"

"_I feel great, actually. I can probably fly into the night if you want me to."_

"We're running short on time, so if you could, that would be great."

I got onto Blackjack's back before he took off into the sky.

Suddenly, my sock began growing warm and I managed to fish the bracelet out of my pocket without tumbling off of the pegasus' back.

I placed my thumb over the charm so the scythe wasn't visible. Not that Blackjack could exactly turn around, but I wasn't taking any chances.

"What's the news?"

"I just wanted to let you know Silena has been acting very strange, lately. She refuses to talk to anyone and she periodically disappears into the woods."

_I guess Kronos finally got around to visiting her. Can't say the same for Drew, I guess._

"Really? Well, follow up on that and find out what she's doing."

"Alright, sweetie, I'll-" I let go of the charm and stuffed it back into my sock.

"_Who was that, Boss?"_

"Just an annoying girl at camp. I'm having her keep tabs on what's going on there while I'm gone."

Thankfully, Blackjack didn't press for more answers. "_We're about to enter the Illinois border, and if I press on through the night, I think I can make it to Missouri by nightfall."_

"Good work, Blackjack. Just let me know if you need a snack break."

"_The tank's full of grass, Boss. I'll be able to run on my stomach contents for a while."_

As Blackjack flew through the sky, I had plenty of time to think, almost too much.

My mother was gone. My stepfather, dead. My real father, aloof. I didn't have a family, not a real one, anyway. Luke was a nice guy and Blackjack was a great companion, but they just didn't make me feel complete.

But maybe my life wasn't meant to be complete. Maybe I was destined to be a part of the instrument that would bring justice to this bucket of filth called civilization. That had to be my destiny, to be the herald of punishment and a reaper of men.

_Maybe after this is all said and done, Kronos will let me torture the most evil souls of the Underworld. After all, with Hades gone, somebody needs to take care of the Underworld._

The days seemed immortal as I had nothing but time for the next few days. Blackjack would touch down every once in a while for a break and sometimes, the two of us would get some sleep. It even seemed like the monsters grew tired of chasing us as encounters with them grew few and far between.

One day, while I was practicing forming a dagger from a bottle's worth of water, Blackjack neighed in excitement.

"_Boss, we made it! We're in Nevada!"_

I directed the water back into its bottle before looking towards the ground.

It seemed we had reached a never-ending desert with little civilization in sight. "_Where to from here, Boss?"_

"You know where Las Vegas is?"

Blackjack neighed in indignation. "_That place has imprisoned countless of my kind! They use us for their little magic shows and parties!"_

I sighed. "Look, just drop me off in Las Vegas and you can fly off somewhere for the time being. I need to find two demigods and they could be anywhere in this gods-forsaken state."

"_You don't need to tell me twice, Boss. Just whistle as loud as you can, and I'll hear you."_

I frowned. "How will you hear a whistle from miles away?"

"_Special gift Father passed down to all pegasi."_

I decided not to question it. "Alright, Blackjack, get me to Sin City."

After a few more hours of flying, Blackjack had dropped me off at a rent-a-car station outside the city.

"_Remember, Boss, if you need me, I'm just a whistle away." _

"Thanks, Blackjack. Don't enjoy your freedom too much, now."

"_Ah, Boss, do I ever-"_

I merely raised an eyebrow.

"_Alright, fair enough," _he said before taking off into the cloudless sky.

Most of my time at Camp had been spent training, but I also learned a lot hanging around the Athena kids, particularly a boy named Malcolm.

He had taught me everything about the demigod world, and I knew that Blackjack probably looked like a crow or a helicopter to the common mortal.

I also knew that manipulating the Mist was an easy way of bypassing any mortal laws, and after a few lessons from the Hectae kids in the Hermes Cabin, getting a car would be a cinch.

The clerk eyed me weirdly as I walked up to the desk. "Hi, I'd like to rent a decently priced car."

"Uh, you don't look old enough to be driving, kid."

I placed a printed version of my "driver's license" (which was really just an advertisement for a car wash) onto his desk. "I'm older than I look," I insisted.

His eyebrows furrowed, but I knew that he couldn't question the legality of the document. Under Nevada law, I was a licensed driver, clear as day.

"Alright, Percy, would you like a sedan or a van?"

"Sedan, please."

"You will be driving the Honda Accord in parking spot A10. It'll be $50 a day plus a dollar for every 2 miles you drive. You will be responsible for gas, and there must be a full tank when you bring it back. Make sure to…"

I tuned the man out and focused instead on the clerk next to him. She had been eyeing me ever since I had walked in here and something just didn't seem right about her. I stuffed a hand in my pocket and clutched Riptide.

"...clean as it was before. Did you get all that?"

"Yeah, loud and clear," I muttered before grabbing the keys from the desk.

Suddenly, the female clerk lunged towards me and I leaped out of the way. Instantly, her skin grew scaly and her legs morphed into a long, serpentine tail. I pulled out Riptide and uncapped it.

"You will be a delicious snack, half-breed," the creature hissed.

"Attack me if you wish, but you'll just be invoking Kronos' wrath."

Her eyes widened before narrowing into slits. "You lie."

I pulled the bracelet out of my sock and waved it around. "Is that what you really think?"

"Any Hephaestus fool could have made that in their forge. You can't escape your doom," it snarled before lunging at me again. I twirled away before slashing its tail clean of its body. The monster roared in pain before I drove my sword into the back of her head.

She dissolved into golden dust and I saw the mortals in the room gawk at me. "That kid just single-handedly chased off that robber!"

"Are you some kind of CIA agent?"

"Someone call the news!"

I hurried out the door and dashed through the parking lot. Instantly, I found the A section of the parking lot and pulled myself into the car before sticking the key into the ignition.

Before the mortals could follow and interrogate me further, I peeled away from the station and drove towards Vegas.

Last summer in our annual trip to Montauk, Mom had taught me how to drive in Gabe's old Camaro and thus I instantly fell into a comfortable trance of driving on an endless road.

Flying with Blackjack had been fine, but a horse's back wasn't anywhere near as comfortable as a car seat and the air hadn't always been cool. I bumped up the AC and cruised for the shining skyline of Sin City.

Line Break

As I waited in a long line of cars, I thought about how I would go about this.

_Kronos mentioned that the two demigods were enrolled in some kind of corrective school, so I guess a library would have a computer I could use._

After hours of driving and yelling at passing pedestrians for directions, I had parked and was headed into Clark County Library.

From what I had gathered from stories Hermes kids told, technology and demigods didn't mix, and I knew that spending too much time could end up with me on the pictures of wanted posters for the murder of a poor old lady.

After a few minutes, I had finally found the names I was looking for under the roster of The Wilderness School.

_Looks like they're on a little field trip to a Nevada Natural History Museum, figures since they're a "wilderness" school, now I just got to find a way to kidnap them…_

I jotted down the address and a few minutes later, I was paying for an admission ticket at the museum.

"Sorry to bother you, but did a school of kids around my age come in here earlier? Some of my friends are in The Wilderness School and I wanted to say hello."

"Ah, yes, the trouble-ah, the reformed kids. They came in about half an hour ago."

"Thank you."

I strode through the museum, hunting for a large group of kids, and I heard them before I saw them.

"Hey, Piper, does your dad work as a janitor here? Did you get free admission for giving him a big hug?"

"Your parents had to look like this dinosaur for you to look the way you do."

I walked casually around the corner and saw a group of girls laughing at another who was being held back by a scrawny Latino boy.

She was beautiful to say the least, with long dark brown hair, tan skin, and eyes that couldn't seem to decide what color they wanted to be, and she was the perfect match for a daughter of Aphrodite.

"Let me go, Leo," she snarled.

"Easy, Pipes. As much as I would love to record a video of you going berserk on these girls and upload it on YouTube, I would probably get arrested for recording brutal murder."

_That's Leo? He doesn't seem anything like the other sons of Hephaestus, but to each his own, I guess._

I walked up to the group and casually tripped one of the girls. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said in mock concern before scowling. "Appreciate the exhibits, there's some good stuff here if you were to spend some time looking instead of mocking other people."

The clique stared at me in shock and the one I tripped had stood up and put her finger to my face.

"Who do you think you are tripping me like that?"

I snorted. "Please. Instead of asking me who I am, look in the mirror and ask what kind of person you really are; shallow and insecure, so much so that the only way you can comfort yourself is by bullying another girl rather than taking measures to look beautiful on the inside as well as the inside. You're pathetic."

The words were a bit harsh, but after 14 years of dealing with Gabe, I had no time for bullies.

The girl's face grew red as words refused to leave her mouth. The rest of her friends began whispering to one another before leaving the room.

"You-You-How could you say those things?"

I shrugged. "You don't seem to have a filter between your mouth and your brain, so why should I? All I did was give an honest assessment of the human being I was looking at."

The girl ran away, holding back her sobs. "She can dish it, but she sure as Hades can't take it," I mused before turning to Leo and Piper. The two were staring at me in amazement as their mouths hung low.

"Dang, you made Isabel cry! You're my hero!"

I stuck out a hand and Leo eagerly grabbed it. "I'm Percy."

"Leo Valdez, at your service."

Piper shook my hand firmly. "I'm Piper McLean."

I was trying to think of a way to take them with me when suddenly, a giant lion rounded the corner across from us and let out a roar.

Tourists began to scream and run for the exit but the lion only had eyes for the three of us. It slowly began backing us into a dead end, snarling as pearls of saliva dripped from its open mouth.

I pushed the two of them away from me before uncapping Riptide. The lion lunged at me and I stepped to the right, allowing it to crash into the wall.

I drove my sword into its midsection only for it to glance off like my sword was a pool noodle.

"What the Had-" The lion slapped me with a massive paw, sending me soaring into a large replica of a dinosaur skeleton.

_Great, it's the gods-damned Nemean Lion. _

I groaned and tried to get up as my back screamed in pain.

The beast began stalking towards me when a taxidermied antelope hit its midsection. The lion turned towards Piper and Leo, who were staring at it with wide eyes.

It lunged at the pair and they scrambled away as quickly as they could.

_I have to get it to open its mouth, somehow._

My eyes darted around the room, but there was no food or gift shop in sight. My eyes landed on my backpack and an idea struck me.

I ripped open my bag and pulled out the first package I touched, a freeze-dried beef pasta with peas.

The lion was backing Piper into a corner, who was frantically trying to revive a fallen Leo.

"Hey, kitty!"

The beast turned towards me. "You want some Jackson? Well, come get some, pussy!"

With a roar, the lion barreled towards me and I flung the MRE package down its throat.

The lion's eyes widened before it began gagging, attempting to dislodge the bag from its throat. I wasted no time in shoving my sword down its mouth.

It shuddered before collapsing onto the ground, bursting into typical gold monster dust.

Without pause, I grabbed a water bottle and ran towards Piper, who was attempting to wrap a large wound on Leo's chest with a makeshift bandage she had made from his shirt.

"Here, let me," I muttered. Piper looked at me strangely before backing up. I uncapped the water bottle and wrapped my hand with its contents before placing it on his chest.

Piper's eyes widened as the wound quickly began to close. Sweat had started pouring down my face and a headache was beginning to set in when the gash finally faded into a long, pale scar.

I fell back and took in deep breaths, trying not to faint from pure exhaustion.

Piper stared at me in awe. "Are you God?"

"If only, I wouldn't feel so gods-damned tired, then."

Piper let out a nervous laugh. "Then, what are you?"

I sat up and walked over to my bag. "Well, you were half right. I'm a demigod."

"A demi-what?"

I grabbed a bottle of water and chugged the whole thing down. "Half mortal, half god. My mom was a woman named Sally Jackson and my father was the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon."

Piper was quiet for a moment. "That animal...it was the Nemean Lion, wasn't it?"

"Ding, ding, ding. Greek mythology junkie?"

"My dad used to tell me stories. Why were you at this museum? Don't say you came here just to see the sights."

"I'm from a place where demigods can live safe from monsters. It's in New York, actually, and I was sent to rescue you. A lot of creatures from Greek mythology like that lion can track our godly scent so they can turn us into hors d'oeuvres."

Piper looked confused. "What scent?"

I pointed a finger at her and then Leo's unconscious form. "You two are demigods, just like me. One of your parents is a god, and seeing as you've mentioned your father, I'm guessing your mother has been absent for your whole life?"

"Y-Yeah. She was. Dad said she ran away, but…"

"My mom told me my father was lost at sea, and I'm sure Leo's mortal parent told him something along the same lines."

Piper stared at the ground looking as if she had walked through a war zone. "Mom was a goddess this whole time…"

I took out a bottle of water and tossed it to Piper before sitting down across from her. "Do you have any weird powers?"

"I stole stuff, not because I wanted things, but to get my dad's attention. Well, not really steal…"

I raised an eyebrow. "I just asked store workers to give me things, and they would just do it. I got caught too many times and my dad sent me to this school…"

_Strange. If I were to guess, I would've said she was a daughter of Hermes. How does she have such an easy time stealing?_

"Leo's really good at building these random things. He's always fiddling with some paper clips, or washers, or-"

"Hephaestus."

"Excuse me?"

"That's who Leo's godly parent is, the god of blacksmiths and forges. Every Hephaestus kid I know is like that."

"Do you have any idea who my godly parent is?"

I decided that the best way to keep my allegiance to Kronos a secret for now was to go the stupid route.

"If your father was a god, I'd say you're a Hermes kid, but you said it was your mom that was absent your whole life, so to be completely honest, I have no idea."

Piper opened her mouth to ask me something when Leo began to stir.

"My chest…" he groaned before looking at his midsection in confusion. "What happened to the place where the lion got me? How did it heal so quick?"

Piper pointed at me. "He's the child of a god, and apparently, we are too."

Leo looked at the two of us skeptically before nervously laughing. "The child of a god? Please, Beauty Queen, I'm sure you just got hit in the head a little too-"

I summoned the water from a bottle and formed it into a sword before raising an eyebrow.

His eyes bugged at the blade, and I tossed it at a wall, where it promptly splashed and ran down the chipped paint.

"Ok, not normal. How do you know we can do things like that, too?"

"From what Piper told me, you're quite the engineer."

Leo blushed a little. "I mean, not really. I just make helicopters out of paper clips and pipe cleaners."

"I promise you not a lot of people can do that. The only ones I know are all sons of the forge god. Your dad was absent your whole life?"

"How did you-"

"You were always interested in building things, even as a little kid?"

"How did you-"

"You had encounters with either weird people or strange animals, and no one believed you?"

"Are you a son of the mind god, or something?"

I chuckled. "I'm a son of Poseidon, the god of the ocean. Most demigods have the same childhood stories, and unfortunately, your entire life is about to turn upside down."

Leo merely stared at his hands as if they would turn into snakes at any moment. I shouldered my bag and turned to Piper.

"We have to get moving. Other creatures like that lion will be tailing us soon, and I would like to put as much distance between them and us as humanly possible."

As Piper was helping Leo up, I saw cops beginning to rush into the entrance. I grabbed both of their arms and pulled them to the exit.

"That reminds me, I haven't exactly been the most law-abiding today, so I would prefer if we didn't have to talk to the cops."

Soon, I had them in my car and in the middle of Las Vegas traffic. The two were trying to regain their breath in the backseat as I tried to think about what to do next.

"Where are we going?" I kept my eyes on the road. "To the airport."

Leo looked confused. "Why are we going to the airport?"

"Ask Piper, I have some thinking to do and I would prefer if I didn't have to repeat everything," I threw a glance at Piper. "Would you mind?"

As Piper began explaining things to Leo, I casually reached into my sock and slid the bracelet on.

_Do you think it would be ok to take a plane to New York? I know for a fact that Zeus would strike me out of the air if he thought I had his bolt._

"_I have planted suspicion in Zeus' mind that Luke has his bolt, which ironically, is true. He will not be happy about a son of the sea in his domain, but he won't dare strike you down in fear of all-out war with Poseidon. However, do not expect a smooth ride whatsoever."_

_Thank you, my lord._

I slipped the bracelet back into my sock and pulled the pouch of money from my bag. In this kind of traffic, an idling car would be a common occurrence.

I stopped my counting when I noticed the car had gone silent. Leo was staring at the large amount of money in the Ziploc with an astonished look on his face.

"Are you rich?"

I chuckled. "No, not in the slightest."

Interestingly, Piper didn't seem to have any interest in the money. _I guess she's rich herself._

"Then how are you carrying so much money on you?"

"Some friends of mine are resourceful."

I stuffed the Ziploc back into my bag and smiled. As luck would have it, I had more than enough money to buy three first class tickets. With all the turbulence we would probably be experiencing, I wanted to at least sit alone somewhere comfortable.

That's when a rainbow on the dashboard caught my eye.

_I wonder if it could work…_

I dug the Ziploc back out and took out a gold drachma. What had Chiron always said to say?

"Oh Iris, please accept my offering and show me Luke Castellan."

"_I would prefer if you said, 'Oh Iris, GODDESS OF THE RAINBOW, please accept my offering', but I'll let it slide this time."_

I rolled my eyes and watched as the rainbow shimmered, showing me a blurry image of Luke.

Leo seemed to faint in the back and Piper was watching the rainbow with wide eyes.

"Peeeeercy!" Luke grinned. "My man! How are you doing?"

I frowned. "Are you ok?"

"I'm great! Never been better in my life! Annabeth, come say hi to Percy!"

During my time at Camp, I had talked to Annabeth a few times during my visits to the Athena cabin but I couldn't say I knew her all too well.

"Hi, Percyyy!" My frown deepened. "Are you guys drunk? What are you doing? Don't you have a quest to finish?"

Luke laughed. "Quest, schmest! We'll be ok, just a few more hours and we'll be out of here!"

I narrowed my eyes at the rainbow. It was hard to see the background, but I saw something that sent indignation shooting through my brain.

"You're at a casino?"

"Bingo! We're at this place in Nevada. Something to do with a flower? Anyway, speaking of bingo, I got some games to get to. I'll see you around, Perce!"

The image dissolved and I growled in irritation. I didn't see Grover Underwood, the satyr they were with, but Annabeth and Luke had clearly been drugged.

I turned towards the backseat. "You guys go to school in Nevada, do you know of any casinos that have something to do with flowers?"

Leo merely looked perplexed but Piper was sitting forward. "There's a new place that opened recently that my dad was talking about. It's called the Lotus Casino."

"Any idea where it is?"

Piper whipped out a phone before tapping on it. "It's only a mile away from here, actually."

I studied her phone before I held out a hand. "May I see it?"

She nodded and handed me the device. I memorized the address before chucking it out the window. Leo stifled a laugh as Piper glared at me.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Mortal devices in the hands of demigods attract some pretty nasty monsters. That's probably why the Nemean Lion attacked us as opposed to a few minor monsters," I said before turning to Leo.

"You got a phone?"

Leo dug into his pockets and pulled out a bunch of bits and bobs that were definitely not a phone. After a few seconds of this, I held up a hand. "Alright, I believe you. You can put all that crud back in your pocket."

Leo looked offended. "I'll have you know that with this 'crud', I can build things beyond your imagination!"

I rolled my eyes before rounding a corner. "Some friends of mine are in trouble, so I'm going to need you guys to stick with me no matter what. I would love to leave you here in the car, but I'm sure some monster is going to find you defenseless in here, so you're going to follow my exact orders to the T. Understood?"

Piper nodded as Leo was almost jumping in his seat. "Oh, man, this is so cool! We're about to go on a rescue mission!"

I parked the car and turned towards the two of them, fixing a hard stare on Leo. He instantly calmed down and watched me with a startled look.

"This is no spy movie, Leo. My friend Luke is a powerful demigod, so whatever drugged him and his friends is a major threat. No matter what temptations you see in there, you are not leaving my side, or there will be hell to pay. Got that?"

The two nodded and I grabbed my backpack. A bellhop walked out of the Lotus Casino and began heading towards us. I palmed Riptide and grinned at Piper and Leo.

"Now then, who's ready to strike it lucky?"


	5. Up All Night

Chapter 5

"Welcome to the Lotus Casino!" The bellhop gave me a megawatt grin that was downright psychotic. I offered a thin one in return as Piper and Leo climbed out of the car.

"Please, step this way. Would you like me to carry your bag?"

"I'll carry it, thanks."

The bellhop nodded before escorting us inside. The minute we entered, Piper and Leo's heads wandered in amazement and I scowled. No wonder Luke had gotten enchanted.

The casino was enormous, with endless rows of games and slot machines to my right and what looked like a 5-star resort to my left. A giant food court loomed in the distance, with all my favorite restaurants on display.

_How odd. I don't recall Mario's Pizzeria being a chain, it was more like a family-owned restaurant, and yet I can see one over there._

The woman at the front desk grinned and offered me three cards and a room key. "Here you go, you're in room 303 and these Lotus Cash cards will allow you access to everything in this hotel!"

Every fiber in my body wanted to grab the cards and go ham, but I took a deep breath before offering a smile of my own. "No, thanks. I'm just here to look for a friend."

Her smile seemed to dim a little, but it refused to fade away. "Oh, I see. Well, come to the front desk anytime and I'll have these waiting for you!"

Leo looked like he was about to start drooling so I grabbed them and pushed them through the casino.

"Alright, I need you two to be on the lookout for Luke. If you see a blonde girl with gray eyes or a crippled kid with crutches, tell me right away."

"Want...card…" Leo muttered. Piper merely looked around in wonder.

_This was a mistake._

The temptations were creeping up on me, but I did my best to ignore the primal urge.

That's when I spotted a head of blonde hair. I dashed over and saw Annabeth playing some sort of 3D world-building game that popped off the display board.

"Percy!" she gave me a hug. My mental alarms were blaring. I barely knew this girl, much less been on a friend-hug basis with her.

"Annabeth, this place is a trap. It's meant to keep you here forever."

She frowned. "Doesn't seem so bad. Be happy!"

I had never heard a non-intellectual sentence leave this girl's mouth so I knew I had to get out of here ASAP.

"Annabeth," I growled. "Where's Luke?"

"I dunno, Percy," she giggled.

Enough was enough.

I grabbed her by the shoulder and roughly smacked her in the face. Anger flared through her cloudy gray eyes before they cleared to a normal color.

She gasped and I let out an internal sigh of relief. "Oh my gods, what happened?"

I opened my mouth to explain when I realized Piper and Leo were gone.

"Fuck me. Where's Luke and Grover?"

Annabeth looked around with a dazed look on her face. "They were on the dance floor last I saw them. How long have I been here?"

"I have no clue, but we have to go. Find the other two, get them to their senses, and meet me at the front desk."

Annabeth nodded before disappearing. With luck, she wouldn't fall back under the spell again, or else I would have to take some drastic measures.

After a few minutes, I spotted Piper wandering towards the food court. I grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"Piper, snap out of it!" I growled. "It's bad enough my other friends are hypnotized, I can't have you wandering off!"

"Percy, I want to stay here!" she smacked my arm. "Pretty please?"

"No, we are leaving right now. Where's Leo?"

Piper shoved me away. "Find him yourself! I'm not your slave!"

I gave her the same treatment as Annabeth, but it only seemed to make Piper dazed.

"Want...stay…"

_What could get the undivided attention of any daughter of Aphrodite?_

The answer that came to my mind wasn't pleasant but I really didn't have time to lose.

I grabbed her shoulders before spinning her around to face me.

"Percy, what are you-" I pulled her into a kiss, and Piper's eyes widened in shock.

After a few seconds, I broke it and stared at her eyes.

_Weird, I never noticed her eyes changed colors._

Piper shook her head a little before she gasped. "Oh my God, did you just-"

I grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "Am I really going to have to hold your hands like children?" I growled. "Where's Leo?"

Before she could answer, I spotted him chatting it up with a few girls who were clearly older than him.

"Leo, it's time to go, buddy."

"Hold on, Percy, this is-"

I grabbed Leo by the shirt collar and threw a hard hook into his face. The boy crumpled and I slung him over my shoulder. There was no telling what would get Leo out of his trance but I sure as Hades wasn't about to kiss him.

The women he was with simply walked away talking and giggling like nothing had happened.

_Gods, this place is a nightmare._

After a few minutes of searching I met up with Annabeth and a dazed pair of guys. "Are they good?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Sort of. Grover was fine after a good lecture, but Luke I had to…" she trailed off as a blush colored her cheeks.

"Don't worry, I had to do the same to Piper. Let's get out of here."

The bellhops and the registration tried to convince us to stay and enjoy ourselves, and when they offered premium cards for the upper rooms, I almost salivated.

Nevertheless, I declined and Annabeth helped me pull the rest of the group out of that cursed casino.

My eyebrows instantly furrowed in confusion at the dark night sky. We had entered the casino a few minutes ago, and it had been the high afternoon.

I turned towards Annabeth. "How long were you guys in there?"

"It only felt like an hour, but…" she ran towards a newsstand and gaped at the front page. "Two whole days passed!"

"You guys better get your butts to LA. Do you need a ride?"

Annabeth stared forlornly at the street. "No. We only managed to get here through an animal show truck courtesy of Ares."

Something about that really ticked me off. Ares, an Olympian god, wasn't capable of giving them more humane transportation?

_Just another reason to tear Olympus down brick by brick._

I dug in my pocket and threw Annabeth my car key. "My car's the Honda Accord parked over there. Haul ass to LA as soon as possible, no sidetracks, got it?"

"Annabeth stared with wide eyes at the keys in her hand. "But...But its yours!"

I snorted. "I rented it from a dealership. Don't worry, I got a ride back to Camp."

Annabeth glanced at Luke and Grover, who were both staring longingly at the casino, before giving me a hug. "Thanks, Percy," she whispered.

I awkwardly patted her on the back. "Er, your welcome. Go kick some ass in the Underworld for me."

Annabeth pulled away and grinned. "Will do."

I gave her a nod before grabbing Piper and Leo. "Alright, time to get away from this cursed casino."

"Want...girls…" Leo groaned. Piper still looked star-struck. "Did you really just kiss me?"

"You were in a trance. Slapping you in the face didn't snap you out of it, so I had to resort to other measures." I turned towards the street and hailed a taxi.

A mustard-colored cab pulled up next to us and I quickly climbed into the passenger seat. "Where's the nearest airport?"

I could only describe the driver as looking greasy, with messy stubble splattered all over his face and black, tangled hair that went down to his shoulders. There were a few mysterious stains on his button up shirt, which was struggling to encompass his enormous stomach.

"That would be the McCarran. Heading somewhere?"

I nodded. "New York. How much is the fare?"

"McCarron's about 10 miles from here, and I charge a $6 flat fee with $3 per mile."

I wrinkled my nose. The taxi was pricey, but there were no other cabs in sight. "Alright," I sighed. "Just get us there, please."

The man grinned, greed shining in his piggish eyes. "My pleasure."

I shuddered a little in disgust and closed my eyes. This was going to be a long trip.

Line Break

I stared out the window of the airport at the glittering lights of Las Vegas, thinking about how perfectly it embodied Western Civilization. So glimmery and attractive on the outside, yet so much filth lurked within, with the "justice system" doing little to stop its atrocities.

"Percy."

I started and glanced behind me. "Hey, Piper. I thought you and Leo were grabbing some dinner."

Piper sat across from me. Her unsettling eyes locked onto mine. Despite the fact that she was dressed in casual clothes, she almost shone with beauty, more so than her half-siblings.

_Kronos did say she was a powerful demigod. I wonder if that has anything to do with how she looks._

"Leo's busy flirting with a girl right now. I realized I never thanked you for saving us from the Nemean Lion, so I just wanted to give you my gratitude. Leo and I would've been toast."

I waved that off. "You guys saved my butt, too. You should've seen that beast's face when you threw the antelope at it."

Piper laughed, a tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks. "It didn't do much, but thanks for your credit. We almost dropped the thing on my foot. You were the real hero."

I smiled before an image of Gabe wiped it away.

"_Get up, boy! Strike me! Show me just how brave you're feeling! Be a hero!"_

"I'm not a hero," I said flatly. "I'm a demigod. There's a difference."

Piper cocked her head. "You killed a monster that Hercules struggled to beat and saved my-our lives. How could there possibly be a difference?"

"Heroes only exist in story books." I said, thinking about the look of fear on my mother's face as Gabe's dirty fingers encircled her neck. "I'm simply a failure looking to redeem myself."

"_United flight A, you may now be checked in."_ the intercom crackled. I stood up and slung my backpack over my shoulder. "Go get Leo, I have someone to talk to."

Piper looked at me in bewilderment before heading off to find the son of Hephaestus. I quickly slipped on my bracelet and stuffed my hands in my hoodie pocket. There was no telling if any demigods would be nearby.

_My lord, what do I do once I get Piper and Leo to Camp?_

"_You three will remain there for a while. You are all powerful, but even you require more training to be a useful part of my army. I will inform you of when to desert the Camp, but for now, I will be using a proxy of sorts as the 'general' of my army."_

I frowned at that as I boarded the plane. _A proxy?_

"_A filler of sorts until you develop your powers, or should I say, unless you develop your powers."_

My frown deepened into a scowl. _You promised me that I would lead your forces!_

Instantly, my head exploded in pain and I bent over with a hiss.

"Sir, are you alright?" a flight attendant gave me a concerned look. I offered a thin smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

She studied my ticket and directed me to the first class seating.

"_Watch your tongue when you speak to me, boy."_

_Forgive me, my lord, I merely lost my temper. _

"_As powerful as you are, you are only a 14 year old boy. If you had a rival to compete against, your powers would increase exponentially with motivated, hard training. This 'filler' will not be of powerful blood like you, but merely an experienced warrior. When the time comes, if you are not able to defeat him, you won't be fit to lead my army."_

I wanted to shout in frustration but I let out a deep breath. Kronos' logic made sense, I knew that with the correct motivation, people could reach past their limits to achieve their goals.

_I will make sure to become the most powerful demigod to walk this sorry planet. I won't fail you._

"_As your powers develop, demigods will begin to look up to you, admire you, imitate you. These demigods will be easy to sway into my control. Things will be best this way. In the meantime, I will be testing your strength periodically. Brace yourself."_

His voice went silent and I stuffed the bracelet back into my sock.

Through the corner of my eye, I saw Piper and Leo take their seats and I relaxed. Finally, this dumb quest was over.

I closed my eyes and was sleeping pretty well until the plane started shaking. My eyes shot open and I glanced out the window. We were in the middle of an intense cloudline and I knew instantly what was going on.

"_Attention, please. We are experiencing some turbulence right now due to unexpected storm weather. Do not under any circumstances get out of your seats at this time."_

_Stupid Zeus, this is petty to say the least. He knows he can't kill me, so he's trying to make my life hell at the expense of mortals. The man's a mere child, yet he wields the power as the King of the Gods. Pathetic._

Piper, who was sitting in front of me, glanced back with a panicked look.

"This isn't some Greek god doing this, right?"

I gave her a small smile. "On the contrary, you've hit the nail on the head. Zeus doesn't like Poseidon or his children, so he's giving me a little welcoming tour of his domain."

Her eyes widened. "Zeus? Like lightning bolt Zeus? King of the gods Zeus? Smite you down with his Master Bolt Zeus?"

"The very same. We'll be fine. He knows better than to strike us down from the sky. If he does, he'd be facing all-out war with one of the Big Three."

Piper looked like she wanted to ask more questions but the plane began shaking again.

I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the panicked screams throughout the plane.

_I wonder what my father even thinks of me. He hasn't even bothered to contact me ever since he claimed me. Once a deadbeat, always a deadbeat._

That's when the bracelet began to grow warm in my pocket. I slapped it onto my wrist and took a deep breath.

"What is it Drew?"

"Rumors are flying about the identity of the Lightning Thief. Many suspect that you are the culprit."

I rolled my eyes. "That's absolute Minotaur shit."

Piper let out a panicked scream as the plane dipped for a few seconds before regaining its composure.

"What was that?"

"Plane turbulence. I'll be at Camp soon with two demigods I found, a son of Hephaestus and a daughter of Aphrodite."

I could almost see Drew wrinkling her nose. "Why are you bringing them to Camp?"

"Well, they would be dead if I didn't, and judging from their mention in the prophecy I was given, they're pretty important," I paused. "Is it possible for children of Aphrodite to be good at stealing?"

Drew scoffed. "Of course, hon! It's a power reserved to a blessed few called charmspeak, which allows us to talk people into doing things they don't want to do. I could easily walk into a store, tell them to give me all the jewelry I want, and they'll do it without a moment's hesitation. Of course, it's not permanent, but by then you'll be long gone."

_That can be a pretty useful weapon for Kronos. Piper's charmspeak must be way better than Drew's for him to be more interested in Piper._

"You said one of them is a daughter of Aphrodite. How is she?"

"Let's just say it wasn't hard to identify her heritage."

I almost grinned at the distant sounds of rage Drew was making.

"It's looking like you'll have some competition soon, Drew. Remember, you work for me and if you even think about crossing me, I'll cut your head off with no hesitation. Any other news for me?"

"Dionysus was called back to Olympus for some urgent meeting, but I don't know the details."

"Alright, thanks Drew. Sorry I said I would cut your head off, but it's the truth," I said before whipping the bracelet off.

_The girl could really stand some personality development._

I glanced out the window and saw lightning flash in the distance.

_Zeus must be mad about something._

Piper turned in her seat again and glanced at me. She had earplugs in and her eyes were dilated with fear.

"How long will this flight take?" Piper was taking deep breaths to slow her breathing.

"Well, we're pretty much traveling across the entire country, so I'd give it about 5 hours at least."

Piper's face paled further before she nodded and turned back around.

The hours passed harrowingly slow, and there were points in the flight where I was gripping the seat rests as the plane bumped and swayed in the sky.

The only hope for my survival being my deadbeat dad wasn't all that comforting.

Finally, the plane touched the earth again and a sigh of relief escaped my lips.

_I am never flying again._

I stepped off the plane and met Piper and Leo in the terminal. The two were gazing in wonder outside at the towering buildings miles away. They seemed to glow in the dawn sky and I flashed them a smile.

"Welcome to the Big Apple."

"I knew that New York had buildings, but this is…" Piper trailed off. Leo continued to gape at the view through the glass.

"Well, don't get used to it. The place we're going is more like a forest."

Piper looked at me in confusion. "Those still exist here?"

I gave her a grin. "Believe it or not. We still have to get to Long Island, so the journey isn't over yet."

"Can we get food first?" Leo glanced at me hopefully. I dug out the last hundred out of my pocket and shrugged. "Sure."

After some exploration, we found a Shake Shack in the airport and the two were chowing down like it was their last meal. I merely sipped from a cup of coke and raised an eyebrow at their appetites.

"You know, Leo, I didn't know it was humanly possible to eat two burgers at once."

"Urg."

I rolled my eyes and turned towards Piper. "You know, I've never seen a girl eat like you do, especially a daughter of…" I mentally slapped myself. This was why I didn't have conversations with people.

"Daughter of what?"

"Nothing, just slipped out," I muttered, trying to change the subject. "There aren't any fast food joints near Camp so if you like Shake Shack, you better eat a little more slowly."

"What do you mean especially a daughter of? Do you know who my mom is?"

I sighed and decided that lying wouldn't help my case. "I have an idea."

"Who?"

"Aphrodite."

Piper almost looked disgusted. "The goddess of love? I'm like, the opposite of that. What makes you think she's Mom?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Ever look in a mirror?"

Instantly she blushed. "I-I'm not that pretty!"

Leo snorted. "Piper, there's a reason I call you Beauty Queen."

"Well, what about stealing? Didn't you say that was a Hermes thing, since he's the god of thieves and all?"

I drummed my fingers on the table. "I talked to a daughter of Aphrodite on the flight here, and it appears that-"

Suddenly, the air was filled with screams as a giant pig with wings crashed through a glass wall.

The pig looked like Wilbur from Charlotte's Web had stepped off of the cover of the book, only he didn't have the wings of a flamingo or razor sharp tusks.

"Uh, Percy? What is that thing?" Leo stammered.

I uncapped Riptide and it sprung to life. "I have no idea, but we're going to have to kill it."

My eye caught a bottle of water and I hardened them into two swords before throwing them at Leo and Piper.

"I'm going to draw its attention and when I signal, flank the pig from the sides and cut off its wings. Please try not to get yourself killed."

The two nodded and ran off. I waved Riptide around and began hollering at the beast.

"Hey, Pork Rinds! Over here!"

The pig turned away from the cafe it was demolishing and fixed me with a beady-eyed glare. I noted a few nipples running along its belly.

_I guess it's a sow, not a pig. I wonder if this thing ever had piglets._

I shivered at the thought as the sow took off into the air and barreled towards me.

Just like I had with the Nemean Lion, I rolled to the side hoping it would crash into the floor, but the pig was way more maneuverable than I had anticipated.

It turned sharply and gored my calf with its tusk before flinging me across the airport. I crashed into a lounge chair as my back screamed in protest.

The hairs on my neck raised and I rolled away as the sow crashed into the area I had been lying in.

Suddenly, Piper and Leo were on the sow, slicing its wings off. They jumped off its back and disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

The beast roared in pain and I grabbed Riptide. "Alright, bitch, let's dance," I snarled and beckoned the sow forward.

With a crazed roar, it charged and I knew that it wouldn't be in the best mental shape given how much pain it was in.

I ran towards it, ignoring the pain that instantly wracked my body and quickly rolled underneath it, driving my sword deep into its chest.

The sow let out a screech of pain before bursting into golden dust.

I glanced over at Piper and Leo who were staring at my leg in shock. I looked down and saw a gaping hole in my calf that was barely covered by a flap of skin.

"That's pretty gnarly. Any idea where my backpack went?"

Leo ran over to the ruins of the Shake Shack and handed me my surprisingly undamaged pack.

I whipped out a few bottles of water and poured them over my calf, hissing as an intense burning sensation flared in my leg. The wound began closing and I wrapped it as best as I could with some gauze.

I tried to stand up and instantly fell back, clutching my calf in pain.

"We need to get out of here. I'm not trying to answer any questions with the police."

Piper and Leo formed a human crutch and the three of us managed to leave the airport without getting caught. After moving for about 20 minutes down the New York Streets, I motioned for the two to stop and I whistled as loud as I could. Piper and Leo looked at me confused before Blackjack landed on the pavement beside me.

"Is that a pegasus?" Leo asked excitedly.

I threw him a look over my shoulder. "It is, but given the fact we just went toe to toe with a winged pig, this shouldn't be much of a shocker," I said before stroking Blackjack's snout.

"Our scents are attracting some pretty powerful monsters, so we're going to have to split up. You two will be riding on Blackjack here to Camp while I hail a taxi."

Leo looked at the horse nervously. "Shouldn't you and one of us go on the pegasus? You clearly know how to ride it and-"

"I'm not having one of you go alone. If a monster were to attack you, you'd be weaponless and I'm not letting either of you dying when we're this close. Leo, just hold the reins and make sure you don't fall off. Blackjack knows where Camp is so all you and Piper have to do is make sure you don't fall off."

Piper raised her hand. "I've gone horse riding before."

"Alright, never mind, looks like Piper will be holding onto the reins. Just don't snap them, you won't be calling the shots on this ride."

I paused before pulling both of them into a hug. "Thanks for your help back there, I would be dead without you two."

Before I could gauge their reaction, I ushered them onto Blackjack, who neighed before taking off into the night sky.

I sighed and began scanning the street for any taxis when I felt a hand clasp my shoulder.

"Son."

A/N: Sorry for the late update, it's college application season and my creative juices are currently being channelled into my future, so updates may be a little less frequent until around January. Please leave a review and if you have any suggestions, feel free to PM me. Thanks for reading! -here2stxy


	6. Daddy Issues, Smackdown Edition

Chapter 6

I drove my shoulder behind me into the face of the speaker, who grunted in pain and surprise. I bent down and swept the man off his feet, wincing at the pain that flared through my calf.

With a flourish, I uncapped Riptide and pointed it at the throat of Poseidon. "Don't you ever touch me," I growled.

Poseidon rubbed a red mark on his face. "By Olympus, you're quite the fighter, aren't you?"

My eyes narrowed. "That tends to happen when one has to fend completely for themselves."

Poseidon gave me a sad look before vanishing and reappearing behind me, knocking Riptide out of my hand and pulling me into a headlock.

"I'm just here to help you, Percy. That wound on your leg is too severe to be completely healed by your powers alone."

I lessened my struggle and dropped my hands. Poseidon released me and held his hand to the bloodied gauze.

A hiss of pain escaped my lips before a light, minty, cooling sensation filled my leg. The gauze dropped away, revealing a faded white scar where the wound had been.

Poseidon stood up and handed me Riptide. He gave me a small smile. "A fighter until the end, you're Sally's boy, alright."

White hot anger pulsed through my body and I lunged at my father. His trident materialized in his hand and he blocked my blade. Sparks flew as I fell into a rage, doing everything in my power to try and cut the god's head off.

"Don't you dare say my mother's name!" I roared before slashing at his head. "She deserved so much better than you, and you decided to up your ass and leave her!"

Poseidon parried the strike before using the spaces between the three prongs to catch my sword and twist it out of my grasp. "Percy, I have to obey-"

I raised my hand and a fire hydrant burst open. The water instantly turned into ice spikes which I launched at my father.

Poseidon merely raised a hand, turning the ice back into water which splashed harmlessly on the ground.

"Percy, I think you know trying to fight me would be pointless," he said softly.

I picked up Riptide and pointed it at him. "You're going to have to kill me, because one of us is not leaving here alive," I said before charging at him once again.

Poseidon sighed before flicking his wrist. Instantly, the water from the fire hydrant surrounded my wrists and ankles before hardening, tripping me and sending my body face first into the pavement.

"I'm afraid that's not how this is going to work, son."

I was about to yell at him for calling me son when I watched a few mortals walk by Poseidon without so much as a glance at his trident or my sword.

"I had a feeling a confrontation with you would end like this, so I've completely shielded us from their vision with the Mist."

I glared daggers at him. "Why did you come here? Is it fun to test the powers of the son you never cared for? Does it bring you some sort of sick fascination to watch your own blood struggle to kill you?"

Poseidon dropped his trident, which vanished into thin air. "Percy, I know you'll never forgive-"

"You're damn right I'll never forgive you. Where were you when my mother died at the hands of my disgusting stepfather, you pathetic piece of shit?"

Poseidon's apathetic expression was starting to make my blood boil. "There are certain Ancient Laws that the gods are obliged-"

"Oh, that's rich," I laughed coldly. "The gods' oh so precious and unbreakable 'Ancient Laws' only seem to apply after you bang every mortal you want, huh? You're jokes, the whole lot of you."

"Son-"

"I'm not your son, Poseidon, and you're not my father. Let's get that crystal clear before we talk any further."

Poseidon sighed. "Percy, I was wrong for what I did, and I visited you as a young child. Zeus was on my trail, and if I came back for you, he would've struck you and your mother down."

_That's new._

"What are you talking about? Why would Zeus have struck us down?" I asked suspiciously.

Poseidon sighed. "My brothers, Zeus and Hades, we had all agreed that our children were too powerful and swore off, ah, mingling with the mortals for eternity. I made a mistake, and by the time you were born, I knew that if I made contact with you, Zeus would kill you and your mother."

"Is that all I am to you? A mistake? A physical manifestation of your failures?" I snarled.

His eyes widened at the realization of what he said. "No, Percy, that's not what I-"

"Shut it! You've made your feelings towards me loud and clear. Get the Hades out of here, I can't stand to even look at your face."

Poseidon put his face in his hands and groaned before disappearing in a flash of bubbles. The water securing my wrists and ankles splashed back onto the pavement and I slowly got to my feet.

With a roar of anger, I grabbed Riptide and drove it into the sidewalk. Was that all I'd ever amount to in my father's eyes? An accident that resulted from his broken oath?

Mortals screamed and ducked for cover as the earth trembled violently. I realized what I was doing and immediately ripped my sword out of the concrete.

_His opinion shouldn't matter to me. Who cares what he thinks of me? In a few years, he will be subject to my torture anyway, so why form any emotional attachment to him now?_

The ground settled and mortals began to rush out of buildings onto flatter ground. Traffic began to move again and a yellow car with checkers on it caught my eye.

I waved the taxi over and hopped in. "Yuh feel that earthquake, kid? It's been a while since a big 'un of those hit the ol' Apple."

"Yeah, whatever. Take me to Half Blood Hill, please."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yuh want to go to a forest after yuh felt the earth shiver like that? I'm not sure if that's a smart-"

I dumped the rest of the cash in my bag onto his lap. The driver's eyes widened before he gave me a greedy smile. "Alright, Half Blood Hill 'tis."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. _Mortals, honestly they're no better than those two-bit gods._

The pale scratch on my calf almost made me angry. _Who does Poseidon think he is, randomly showing up, healing my injury and expecting me to instantly forgive him for everything? The nerve of that man. What could my mother have possibly seen in him?_

Hours passed as the taxi moved through the stuffed roads before he finally entered the wooded area leading to Camp.

The car stopped, and after mumbling a thank you, I stepped out of the car and headed into the woods. I felt something tingle at the back of my neck and I ducked as a blast of green light disintegrated the tree in front of me.

I whipped around and uncapped Riptide. Standing before me was a familiar-looking brown-haired boy with sharp green eyes. His bronze breastplate glowed with strange symbols and he had a gold sword clutched in his hand.

"Who the hell are you?"

The boy didn't say anything before sending another bolt of green energy at me. I dove out of the way and only had a split second to roll away again before the boy's sword imbedded into the spot my head had been laying.

"Impressive. However, you're no match for my power," the boy said before whipping a card out and throwing it on the ground. Instantly, a snarling hellhound the size of a rhino burst out of the card and lunged at me.

It tackled me into the ground and made a move to bite my head off only to get a mouthful of Riptide.

It yelped before bursting into dust. The boy frowned before putting his hands together and sending a blast of flames at me. I whipped out a water bottle and willed it to create a shield. A harsh hissing sound filled the air as fire and water cancelled each other out.

The flame channelling seemed to have exhausted the boy, who had sweat streaming down his face. I rushed at him and took an experimental jab at his legs.

He backed up before slashing at my chest. I caught his blade with my own before shoving him away.

"Interesting, it is no wonder that Kronos wants you dead." the boy said before throwing another card down. A dark square appeared on the forest floor, which he promptly jumped through.

Before I could follow him, the square disappeared, leaving me staring in wonder at a pile of dead leaves.

_The first of Kronos' 'tests', I presume. Could he be the filler Kronos was referring to? There was no way that guy was an 'experienced warrior' when he doesn't seem that much older than I am._

I shook my head before heading to the entrance of Camp. The second I had crossed through the gates, Chiron cantered up to me.

"Ah, Percy, you've finally arrived. Piper and Leo are currently getting a tour of the Camp from their respective counselors. Come, we have much to discuss."

"Uh, Chiron? I have a question."

The old trainer looked at me expectantly.

"Are there any demigods who are able to summon fire, green bolts of light, and use magic cards?"

Recognition fluttered across the centaur's eyes. "Yes, in fact, I know exactly who you are referring to. Alabaster Torrington, tall boy with brown hair, freckles, green eyes?"

I nodded. "Who's kid is he?"

"Alabaster is a son of Hectae, a minor goddess of magic. Why do you ask?"

"Well, he attacked me a couple minutes ago and I thought it would be nice to know if there was a traitor here at Camp."

Chiron's eyes widened. "Alabaster attacked you?"

I shrugged. "Tried to kill me, mentioned something about Kronos, and then he just dipped. He's nothing but a coward if you ask me."

Chiron's tail swished nervously. "This is not good. I'll have the counselors take attendance of their cabins immediately. Follow me."

The old centaur galloped towards the Big House and I trailed behind him. The bottom half of his torso wasn't just for looks.

Dionysus didn't bother looking up from the wine magazine he was reading. "So, Perry, you've completed your first quest. You probably feel like some big shot, but let me assure you that you're not."

I was still fuming over my encounter with Poseidon, and having this fat drunk of a god talking down on me wasn't helping my murderous thoughts go away.

"Ignore Lord Dionysus, Percy, you've done a fantastic job. Piper and Leo arrived in one piece, and completing a quest is always a momentous occasion given the, ah, tragedies that have occurred with past questers."

"Thanks. Why did you bring me here again?"

Chiron nodded. "Ah, that's right," he said before turning to Dionysus. "Percy was attacked near the entrance of camp by a demigod son of Hectae."

The god waved him off. "Demigods fight each other all the time. The rogue was probably tired of being ignored by his mother in the Hermes cabin and wanted to blow off some steam."

My fingers curled around Riptide as thoughts of Dionysus' fat head on a platter came to mind.

"Percy said he mentioned servitude to Kronos."

The air seemed to grow cold and Dionysus snapped the magazine closed. "Don't be ridiculous, Chiron, Kronos is dead. Father chopped him up so fine he had no chance of ever forming a consciousness again. Preston is probably lying to you so his quest seems more significant."

I grabbed Dionysus by the collar of his ridiculous Hawaiian shirt and pulled him closer. "I swear on the Styx that what I said was true. I've had enough of your pompousness and your disrespect towards the heroes here when all you did as a demigod was create an intoxicating drink."

Chiron gently pulled me away as Dionysus spluttered in rage.

"Why...Why you insolent brat! I will turn you into a cockroach and feed you to the birds of the air!"

I rolled my eyes. "And what? Risk having Poseidon hold a vendetta against you? You're all bluff, you pathetic drunk."

"Ah, Percy, I believe that is enough. You may return to your cabin now."

I nodded before jogging to the Poseidon cabin. I took a long shower and flopped onto my bed, sighing in relief. After days of resting in a sleeping bag in the middle of a field, it felt amazing to have a mattress under my back.

I hadn't realized I had dozed off until a knock at the door started me awake. A quick glance at the window told me it was already night time. I threw on a pair of dark jeans and a hoodie before opening the door. Piper was standing on my porch, looking like she was trying hard not to laugh.

"Sleep well?"

I gave her a confused look. "Yeah, I did actually."

Piper stifled another giggle before flipping the hood over my head. "Your hair told me otherwise."

I turned red a little before shaking it off. "How has Camp been?"

Piper's face darkened a little. "Silena's great, but the rest of them...they haven't exactly been appreciative of my presence."

I gave her a sympathetic look. "It's Drew, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

I shook my head. "Don't even ask. I'll take care of it."

Piper gave me a warm smile. "Thanks, Percy."

"Don't worry, when I came here, Luke helped me with all the assholes here at Camp, too. Camp Half Blood is just a big, happy family and people who think otherwise are fools. Let's go grab some dinner."

Piper nodded before following me towards the pavilion.

"How's Leo been doing?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen him ever since I got here."

I rolled my eyes. "Hephaestus kids can be very absorbed in their work, so much so they can be seen as the recluses of Camp. Knowing Leo, he'll probably have a hard time getting his siblings to laugh at his jokes."

Piper snorted. "Please, he has a hard time getting anyone to laugh at his jokes."

"You got that right."

We settled into a comfortable silence as we headed towards the open air pavilion. "Drew mentioned something about you being hers," Piper blurted out.

_I swear, I'm going to have to have a talk with that girl._

"What do you mean?"

"When I mentioned that you brought me and Leo to Camp, she immediately went into a frenzy and told me to stay away from you and that you were hers."

The thought of even coming into close contact with Drew made me want to puke. "I would rather date the Minotaur than be Drew's boy toy."

I was too busy gagging at the thought of dating Drew to notice the look of relief on Piper's face.

From personal experience, I can tell you that a full week of eating freeze-dried food really puts an appetite in you.

I was inhaling my 5th piece of brisket when Chiron stomped on the marble floor with his hooves.

"Attention, half-bloods! I have received word that Alabaster Torrington, son of Hectae, has gone rogue and even attacked Perseus on his way here." Murmurs began to float around the tables.

"_Who's Alabaster?"_

"_A son of Hectae?"_

"_Percy must've really pissed him off."_

Chiron cleared his throat. "We will handle the situation, but if you find yourself in his presence, be very careful. He is powerful in the ways of magic and should be seen as a threat. Ladon and the Camp guardians have been warned to attack him on sight and any collusion with this rogue demigod will result in punishment."

Chiron cantered off and everyone began whispering about the new development.

I pushed my plate away and headed towards the woods. Once I felt I was obscured enough, I slipped on my bracelet.

_My lord, is Alabaster Torrington my rival?_

No reply came and I almost stomped my foot in frustration. "Now, now, is someone going to cry?"

I whipped around and saw Drew leaning against a tree with a smirk on her face.

"What do you want, Drew?"

She pouted and got closer to me. "I've been keeping tabs on the Camp all week for you, don't you think you owe me a little favor?"

I didn't like where this was headed. "You are serving Kronos, that should be repayment enough. He will reward you for your services once his golden age begins."

Drew put her hands around my neck and gave me a sultry look. "You're no fun, Percy. Always Kronos this, or Kronos that. Don't you-"

Suddenly, she collapsed to the ground hissing in pain. I saw the bracelet hidden away in her shoe glowing like a hot coal before the light faded away.

"Do not take him lightly, Drew. You have pledged your services to him, and any moves against me will be seen as a move against him. Tread carefully, you are in dangerous waters."

Drew clutched her foot, whimpering in pain. I made a move to head back to Camp but something was just so pitiful about her.

"Oh, curse my soft heart," I growled before picking her up bridal style and walking towards the lake.

"This is nice," Drew muttered, nuzzling into my chest.

I gritted my teeth and moved faster. Upon reaching the canoe lake, I dumped her unceremoniously on the ground before taking off her shoe and sock, revealing a burnt scar in the shape of a scythe.

"You are branded with the mark of Kronos now. Beware what you think or say, Drew Tanaka."

I summoned some water and pressed it over her foot. The burnt skin peeled away, leaving behind the scythe-shaped scar that was colored a pale white.

"I'm sure you can put on your shoe and find your own way to Camp," I muttered before walking away, ignoring her cries for me to come back.

_Gods, the girl is a lovestruck fool._

Line Break

I hacked away at a training dummy in frustration. Kronos' lack of responses to my calls were beginning to get under my skin and the thought of having a rival who can shoot flames from his hands and use magic portal cards was preposterous.

After the day-long nap I had, my body refused to fall asleep. The minute dawn hit (leaving the cabin before would often end up with you being chased by harpies), I ran to the sword arena to practice my swordsmanship.

After beating my tenth dummy to a straw pulp, I sheathed my sword and sat cross legged in the middle of the arena and closed my eyes. I had learned from my time with Gabe to swallow my anger and focus on reality, and being angry at Kronos wouldn't be doing myself any favors.

"You're up early."

I didn't bother opening my eyes. "What are you doing awake so early, Piper?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Fair enough, I came here to work on my swordsmanship. What about you?"

"To be quite honest, I just couldn't stand the scent of Jungle Lily Febreze for another second, so I came outside and heard some action from the sword arena."

I snorted. "Jungle Lily Febreze, huh?"

"You try smelling it for hours and see how long you can stay in one place."

I opened my eyes and stood up. "Alright, since you're here, let's start your training. Do you have a weapon?"

Piper drew a bronze knife from her belt. "Silena gave me this. She called it Katropis."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's Helen of Troy's dagger. You can see prophetic visions through its blade. Did she give you any reason as to why she wanted you to have it?"

Piper hesitated. "Not really, she just said that it had other functions that could prove useful to me in the future."

I put the cap on Riptide and stuffed it in my pocket. "Alright then, enough about the dagger. Attack me."

Piper looked dumbstruck. "I...I don't know how."

"Exactly. Attack me, and I'll have a general idea of where to go from there. Go all out, if you hurt me I have plenty of water right here to heal myself."

Piper nervously gripped the dagger before charging at me. She slashed at my head and I merely stepped to the side before grabbing her wrist and squeezing as hard as I could.

Piper gasped in pain before dropping the dagger, which I kicked to the side. She threw a punch at my face with her other hand, which I promptly caught. I flipped her onto her back before pinning her down with an elbow to her throat.

"Yield?" Piper squeaked out. I laughed before pulling her to her feet.

"You were too easy to read with that charge. An effective way to attack is often with misdirection. Try feigning a strike at me and then attacking me."

Piper picked up Katropis and faked a strike to my midsection. I made a move to protect it, expecting a jab at my face only for her to feign again and send a punch into my stomach.

I stumbled back and grinned. "Not bad. Been in a lot of fights?"

Piper offered a meek one back. "Not all girls are delicate little flowers, you know."

"I'm aware," I said quietly, thinking about my mother.

Piper gave me a concerned look. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just remembering someone special."

The look on Piper's face was almost crestfallen. "I see."

Realizing what I had said, I laughed a little. "I was referring to my mother."

Piper blushed. "Oh. Of course," she paused. "Want to tell me about her?"

I stared at her for a second before lightly grabbing her wrist. "Let's go somewhere more private first," I muttered.

Piper nodded and after a few quiet minutes of walking, we were at the canoe lake. "Ever since I got to Camp, this has been my favorite spot by far."

"Is there a place to sit?"

With a wicked grin on my face, I picked her up and tossed her into the lake. I dove after her and quickly formed an air bubble around us.

Piper punched me in the chest with a surprising amount of heat. She wasn't lying about her toughness.

"What the hell?!" Piper snarled, shivering as water dripped from her hair.

I grabbed her shoulder and she was instantly dried.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. You should've seen the look on your face."

Piper punched me again before looking around in wonder.

"This is so cool," she breathed, her eyes glowing with curiosity as fish and nature spirits swam around our bubble.

"I thought you'd like it," I said before sitting down. Piper followed suit and looked at me expectantly.

"Poseidon was never a big part of my life, and thus, I have a very similar life to most other demigods out there. I had a single mom who was willing to work multiple day jobs to support me while putting her dreams of being a writer on hold," I took a deep breath.

"She even married a disgusting mortal whose smell masked my divine scent from monsters, though she had no idea that he was the real monster. Gabe beat me, my mother, or both of us on a daily basis, and about a month ago, I became tired of his crap."

Piper was staring at me with a hard light in her eyes. "What did you do?"

"I mouthed off to him in front of his poker buddies about what an asshole he was, prompting him to get them out of the house so he could beat me to a bloody pulp." I glared at my shoes in shame.

"I was a little pipsqueak back then, and he proceeded to beat the shit out of me before he took out a knife. My mother happened to come home at that moment and tried to stop him. He killed her on the spot," I said, feeling a couple droplets splash onto my shoes.

_Crap, the bubble is leaking. How come that's never happened before?_

"I...I lost control. That day, I used my rage to channel my water powers for the first time in my life in order to kill that pathetic excuse for a man, but it was too late. The woman who worked so hard to make her son smile and sacrificed so much died to the hands of the very man she married." I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms encircle around me. Piper's eyes glistened as her eyes met mine. "She died because she loved you, and she knew you would do the same for her. Your mother would be proud of who you are now. "

A rush of guilt filled my head as I thought about my life's new purpose.

_I'm doing this for her, she would be proud of what I'm doing. The gods don't deserve to rule, and humanity doesn't deserve to exist._

No matter how many times I repeated this mantra, the guilt refused to leave. I lifted Piper to her feet and snapped my fingers. Almost instantly, the water rushed from underneath us and transferred us back onto land.

"I wish I could be sure about that," I muttered softly. "Thanks for listening to me rant."

Piper gave me a warm smile. "Anytime. You're my hero, Percy, and I know for a fact that if your mother could see you, she'd be so proud of you."

I returned the smile half-heartedly. "That's very flattering, but I'm no hero." I said before heading back to my cabin.

The bracelet with a scythe charm weighed heavily in my sock.

A/N: Sorry it's been a while. I had to scrap a finished chapter and recreate it, and I hope you like how it turned out. Reviews fuel my creativity so please leave one :) Thanks for reading!


	7. Dead (Wo)Men Tell No Tales

Chapter 7

I sat on my bed as I studied the bracelet in my hands, its smooth beads running over the callous of my palm.

_Somewhere out there, Alabaster is raising Kronos' army, and if I don't kill him, Kronos will cast me away. I cannot let that happen._

A hard knock at the door startled me out of my thoughts. I sighed and stuffed the bracelet back into my shoe before opening the door.

"Hello, Piper. How can I help you?"

The daughter of Aphrodite shuffled her feet nervously. "Some of my siblings weren't being the most hospitable people in the world, and since I have nowhere else to go, I thought maybe you wouldn't mind if I hung out with you."

I shrugged. "Sure, come on in."

Piper stepped through and studied the cabin.

"I like the seashells embedded in the walls. It's a nice touch."

"Well, I didn't have a say in it. Listen, about yesterday, I'm sorry for being such a drag."

Piper waved me off. "Everyone has emotions, Percy. You don't have to be sorry for sharing yours."

"Regardless of all that, I'm...thankful you were there for me."

Piper gave me a warm smile. "You're most welcome."

I never realized how beautiful the girl was. She was dressed in a modest gray hoodie and jeans, but she simply radiated beauty without even trying. Not that it mattered.

_Perks of being an Aphrodite girl, that's all._

"Want to head over to the arena?"

I grinned. "I thought you would never ask," I said, offering her a hand. She stood and we headed out the door.

The Camp's magic kept the temperature relatively mild, but the air was brisk and cool. We walked in comfortable silence when I saw Drew out of the corner of my eye, berating some poor girl.

"...and you know that! As punishment, you'll be wearing the shoes of shame for the rest of the week."

The little girl looked like she was about to burst into tears. "Those don't match with anything!"

Drew curled her lip in disgust. "What's it matter? You're just a little freak anyway."

Piper gave her a withering glare before stepping over to her siblings. "Leave Lacey alone," she snarled.

"Oh, please, Piper. You just got here, so don't you think you can go about telling your siblings what to do."

I stepped up and coughed. "Sorry, Drew, but don't you think punishing a little girl is out of line? What could she have possibly done to ruffle your pretty feathers?"

Drew's face couldn't seem to decide on whether she should smile at me or glare at Piper. "Sweetheart, Lacey here hasn't cleaned the cabin as I told her too. We all take turns and do our fair share."

"Yeah, right," Piper growled. "It's not even her turn to clean the cabin, it's yours!"

"Hon, the grownups are talking here and I'm going to need you to stay in your own lane, hm?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose and screwed my eyes shut. "Listen, Drew, just leave the girl alone, alright?"

Drew batted her eyelashes at me. "Oh, Percy, disobedient children must be disciplined, and I'm only making her wear a certain pair of shoes for a few days. What's the harm?"

Lacey glanced up at me, unshed tears in her eyes.

"As trivial as that punishment seems to me, this girl seems to care a lot, and forcing someone into humiliation isn't being a disciplinarian, it's being a bully."

Drew's eyes narrowed and she let go of Lacey, who quickly dashed away. "Alright, _Percy_, I'll let Lacey's transgression slide. However, if you continue to get in my way, I won't bow away gracefully, no matter how hot you are."

I gave her a sarcastic pout. "I'm terrified. Now, get the Hades out of here."

Drew disappeared back into her cabin and Piper gagged. "'I won't bow away gracefully, no matter how hot you are.' Seriously, Drew needs to keep her hands to herself."

"I put up with her a lot more than I have to," I muttered before grabbing Piper's wrist. "Let's get to the arena ASAP. I'm not trying to deal with anymore horny Aphrodite girls."

Without glancing back, I pulled her to the arena before taking a deep breath. I had been to the sword fighting arena so often, it had become like home.

"Alright, Piper, show me what you learned from last time."

Piper drew her dagger and cautiously approached me.

"Good, blindly charging the opponent typically ends up with you defeated. Make sure you don't wait too long to make your move, though."

She nodded before throwing her dagger at my chest. My eyes widened and I spun away. Before I could make a move, Piper tackled me into the ground before throwing a punch into my face. I grabbed her fist before twisting. Piper hissed in pain and I took the opportunity to position my feet at her chest before launching her backward.

I picked up Piper's knife and walked over. Piper was clutching her wrist in pain and I felt a twinge of guilt.

"Alright, maybe-"

Suddenly, I felt my legs give under me as Piper swept my feet off the ground. She wrenched the knife out of my hand before pointing it at my throat.

"I win," She said smugly.

My eyes went wide with surprise before I gave her a grin. "Never yielded, you really had me there. I yield."

Piper stepped off of me and I got to my feet. Her knife clattered to the ground as she clutched her wrist.

I walked her over to a basin filled with water before holding her wrist gently underneath the surface.

Piper winced in pain as the water snapped her wrist back into place, and I gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about the wrist."

Piper let out a breathy laugh. "My future opponents won't be apologizing for my injuries, so you shouldn't either."

"This is our second time fighting and you've already beat me. I'm impressed."

Piper's smugness had died away and she glanced at me. "I only beat you because you were concerned for my well-being, anyone else would've stabbed me in the face with my own knife."

I let go of her wrist as she pulled it out of the basin as good as new. "Piper, this is your second fight with an experienced demigod. Stop being so hard on yourself."

She shrugged before picking up her knife. "What else do you have for me?"

Line Break

I was just beginning to dig into my plate of ribs at the Poseidon table when campers began to rush out of the pavilion, murmuring excitedly.

I had already begun to destroy my dinner when I heard shouts of excitement.

"Luke's back!"

"All three of them are!"

"They did it!"

Immediately, I threw the rib down and ran outside. Through the sea of orange shirts, I spotted a trio of haggard-looking demigods and I grinned like a madman.

I pushed through the campers before pulling Luke into a hug. "You did it, you crazy bastard," I muttered.

Luke hugged me back tightly. "It wasn't easy, but we got it done."

I pulled away and gave him a small frown. "Who was the Lightning Thief?"

Voices died down as everyone listened intently for Luke's answer. "It...It was Ares. He stole the Master Bolt."

An eerie tension filled the air before the Ares Cabin began shouting insults at the questers.

"Liar!"

"How dare you make light the name of Ares?"

"Let me at the punk, I'll rip him to shreds!"

Chiron's voice boomed through the crowd, effectively silencing everyone. "Campers, be still!"

The centaur and Dionysus stood among the demigods, and for once, the wine god's face had an expression other than boredom. "Unfortunately, it is true. That idiot brother of mine sided with Kronos by stealing the Master Bolt, and Father is holding him prisoner in Olympus. All Ares children are to come with me and report to Zeus, lest there be a traitor."

With a snap of his fingers, Dionysus and the children of Ares disappeared, leaving behind only a few sprigs of grapes.

Chiron cleared his throat once more. "Go back to your cabins at once. I must have a talk with Luke."

The campers walked away, muttering to each other about Ares, the questers, and Kronos. I started to walk away when Luke grabbed my arm. "Stay here with us. You should hear what happened, too."

The look he was giving me sent chills down my spine.

_Does he know? Did that fool Ares blab?_

Chiron led the four of us to the Big House and waited for us to be seated. "Luke, would you please elaborate on what exactly happened on your quest?"

Luke, Annabeth, and Grover began telling him about their quest, and I instantly tuned out.

_There's no way Kronos wouldn't let me know if Ares blabbed, he needs me. Unless...he already has chosen Alabaster as his general._

"...and after we beat Ares, he mentioned something about Kronos visiting him in his dreams and there being a spy at Camp."

"A spy?"

"He said, 'You'll end up tearing each other apart. So ignorant as to not notice a spy in your midst. War is inevitable, boy!'"

Chiron frowned. "I believe the spy has already revealed himself."

Luke looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

_Chiron, if you are about to say what I think you're going to say, I will spare you in the coming apocalypse._

"Percy here fought him outside of Camp after completing his quest."

_I owe you, Chiron._

Annabeth sat forward with a calculating expression on her face. "Was it one of the unclaimed from the Hermes Cabin? They are always quiet and keep to themselves, but they would be prime targets for Kronos to seduce."

"Yes, dear, it was Alabaster Torrington, son of Hectae."

Luke looked shell-shocked. "Al was a spy? He's one of the most polite kids I've ever met!"

I nodded assent. "It's true. He jumped me with a blast of green light at my face, and he can summon gods-damned fire from his hands!"

"Al did? I've never seen him use any powers before."

"Well, he has plenty of them. The guy almost killed me!"

Grover raised a hand. "Wait, where is Alabaster now?"

I waved a hand dismissively. "He teleported away. The guy had a card that summoned a portal. Like seriously, how overpowered is that?"

Annabeth cocked her head. "So, shouldn't we be fine now? Alabaster is confirmed to be a traitor, and Ares said 'a' spy, not spies."

Chiron's face looked uneasy. "I wouldn't be too sure. Kronos isn't called the Crooked One for nothing. He wouldn't have Alabaster attack Percy and leave unless he had more spies already in place. We must be even warier now, there could be spies all over Camp."

_Dang, the old horse is smart. _

"For now, we will keep the news about spies close to the vest. It wouldn't do any good to spread paranoia around Camp, so do not mention this to anyone. The campers are aware of Alabaster being a threat, so do not worry about keeping that information concealed. Understood?"

We nodded before Chiron got to his hooves. "I will be going now. Luke, Annabeth, Grover, you three seem tired. I recommend you all get some rest."

They nodded before Chiron cantered away. Annabeth whipped her head towards me. "Did Alabaster really try to kill you?"

I nodded. "Unless he was trying to give me a haircut using his fire powers, he was definitely trying to take me out."

"But why would he try to kill you? What did you ever do to him? There has to be a motive."

I felt a bead of sweat forming on my neck. "I'm not sure, Annabeth. After I finished my quest, I was climbing up the hill to get back to Camp when he shot a bolt of green light at me. I didn't exactly have time to ask him why he was trying to turn me into creme brûlée."

She didn't look satisfied but I ignored her. "You guys should listen to Chiron and get some rest."

Luke gave me a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow, Percy. Thanks for giving us your car in Vegas."

I shrugged. "No worries. It was a rent-a-car anyway, I wasn't going to be using it anytime soon," I said before walking away.

To my surprise, the bracelet in my sock began to grow warm. After making sure nobody was watching, I rushed into the woods before taking a deep breath.

_I swear if this is Drew…_

I slapped the bracelet onto my wrist and closed my eyes.

"_Perseus."_

_Yes, my lord?_

"_I am sure you have many questions for me, and they will be answered, but I need you to listen to me first."_

_Of course, sir._

"_As I'm sure you have figured out, Alabaster Torrington is currently serving as the general of my army."_

_I have to say, he's quite powerful for a child of a minor goddess._

"_I chose Alabaster to lead my army for a reason. He has tremendous potential, but you have even more; I am stacking the deck for this war, and if you don't live up to your own pool of potential, you will be cast aside."_

_I thought we had a deal! You promised me-_

Instantly, white-hot pain shot through my brain and it took all my willpower not to scream in agony.

"_Remember your place. If you truly are stronger than Alabaster, you should have nothing to worry about. Soon, he will be leading an invasion on your precious Camp, and you are to slay him if you wish to take his place."_

_Yes, master. _My brain was still pulsing with pain, and I decided that being subservient would be my best option.

"_Good. Now, are there any questions?"_

_What am I to do with Piper and Leo? _

"_I have been told that you've been training Piper, and I want you to continue to do so. As for Leo, the boy will best learn on his own alongside his brethren."_

Suddenly, the sound of a bush rustling filled my ear. I whipped off the bracelet, stuffed it in my pocket, and turned towards the sound in one smooth motion.

"Who's there?"

The forest was silent and I slowly pulled out Riptide. "Come out and face me, coward," I growled.

The rustling sound came again, but to my alarm, it wasn't the sound of an attack; it was a retreat.

I tore after the sound of footsteps before the shadowy outline of a human appeared in my sights.

With a desperate lunge, I tackled the figure into the ground and held Riptide to their throat. The glowing aura of the blade illuminated the figure's face and I scowled.

"Why are you spying on me, Drew? If a single lie slips from your mouth I'll slit your throat without any hesitation."

The girl paled and writhed under Riptide. "I...I was just looking for something," she stammered. I pressed my sword closer to her throat.

"What were you looking for? I don't think spying on me from the darkness constitutes a search. If you don't tell me the truth right now, I'm sending you to the Underworld the hard way."

"Okay, okay! Al...Alabaster sent me," she whispered. I raised an eyebrow at that. "Alabaster? How long have you been in contact with him?"

"Just a few days. He wanted me to gather as much intel on you as possible so he can have an easier time killing you."

"Interesting, so you're playing the double agent?"

The girl was silent. "Interesting. What have you told him?"

"Your powers, your skills, the people who are closest to you, the-"

The thought of Alabaster kidnapping Piper or killing Luke filled me with intense anger as my hand began to tremble. I didn't realize what I had done until Drew's head rolled onto the forest floor.

With a shaky breath, I backed away from the body slowly. I dropped Riptide and clutched my head in my hands.

_What have I done?_

I screwed my eyes shut. Drew had been irritating to say the least, but I had never wanted to kill her. Even now, I had planned on letting her go with a stern warning, and yet, her bloodied and headless body lay still.

I grabbed some leaves and wiped Riptide clean before recapping it and shoving it back into my pocket. Without a second thought, I headed back to my cabin, making sure to take the quietest steps possible.

By an amazing stroke of luck, I had reached my cabin without running into any demigods or harpies.

I ducked through the door and shut it quietly before letting out a sigh of relief. My heart thumped in my ears as I changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt before I flopped into my bed.

_The Aphrodite Cabin will notice that Drew's gone eventually. I can't be exposed for murdering her, or I'll lose the campers' trust. No way Kronos will let me lead his army if I failed to recruit demigods into his army._

I spent the night staring at the ceiling, cold sweat pouring down my body as I thought about what would inevitably happen the next day. The guilt was getting to me, but I knew that even an ounce of it would be caught by Annabeth and then all would be lost.

_Drew was nothing but a rat. Even if I wasn't working for Kronos, I should've killed her. She was nothing but a bully who dominated anybody who she saw as weak. Camp is better off without her._

I repeated these mantras through the dead of night. When the sun began to peek through my shutters, I felt an eerie calm. Drew's death was a net positive, and her siblings may even feel relieved that she was dead. Besides, had I kept her alive, there was no telling what Alabaster would get her to do. The thought of him gaining direct access to Piper made me shudder.

I threw on some clothes before stepping into the brisk morning air. Justified murder was necessary, and Drew's death would simply be the first blood of the upcoming war.

I headed towards the pavilion, noting the whispered gossip of the Aphrodite kids.

"...and she hasn't returned since last night."

"Should we tell Chiron?"

"With Drew, there's no telling what she's up to."

"Probably spread her legs for one of the Apollo kids. You know how she is."

I caught sight of Piper and jogged up to her. "What's up with your siblings? I heard them talking about Drew."

"She went MIA last night. We all thought she went to the showers, but she never came back. Everyone thinks that she went out to have sex with another Camper," Piper shrugged. "I wouldn't really expect anything less from a 16-year-old."

_Jeez, she was older than me? _

Before I could say anything, I felt someone throw their arm over my shoulder.

"Hey, Perce? You mind if I borrow you for a minute?"

"Sure, Luke."

Luke gave Piper a smile before steering me away. Once we were a good distance from any half-bloods, Luke began to whisper into my ear. "I'm going to need you to hear me out on this. The other day, Conner Stoll told me that he saw a strange bracelet with a scythe charm poking out of Drew Tanaka's pocket. I blew him off, thinking that he was being ridiculous, but word has gotten around that Drew disappeared last night. People are saying she went to sleep with Hunter from the Apollo Cabin, but I've just talked with them and Drew didn't come around."

I cocked my head in mock confusion. "You really think someone would admit to breaking one of the Camp's most important rules?"

"He swore on the Styx, Perce. I told Chiron and he has some trusted counselors searching the Camp."

I gave him a nod. "Hopefully they find her. A bracelet with a scythe charm can't be a good sign."

"Of course, we're going off of Connor's word here, and we all know what a prankster he can be, but something tells me he was being dead serious."

I almost wanted to let out a shout of elation. If Drew was found with her scythe bracelet in her pocket, she would be pegged as a spy and the focus would shift from her cause of death to what intel she was leaking to Kronos.

_Thank the Fates. For once, they're actually in my favor._

"So, what happens now?"

"Chiron wants us to assist in the search. You in for it?"

"Of course. Where do you want me to start looking?"

"The searchers already combed through the camp facilities and now they're in the woods, so that's probably where we should start. Just yell if you find her, one of us will hear you."

I nodded before we split. _Dead men tell no tales. Well, I guess it's a woman, but no matter. Everyone will always remember her as a spy who was killed by an unknown entity. Tragic, but in the end, a necessary evil._

I began digging through bushes and peeking behind trees, trying to find the spot where she had been murdered.

_The sooner they find her, the sooner I can get this burden off my back._

I stumbled into a clearing and instantly recoiled at the sight. It seemed like a few animals had their turn at the daughter of Aphrodite, and her head didn't look much better.

"I FOUND HER!" I bellowed. After a few seconds, a few demigods and a satyr burst onto the scene. Instantly, the sound of vomiting filled the air as people averted their eyes as quickly as possible.

Chiron galloped onto the scene and a sickened look appeared on his face. "It seems we have our 'spy'. Percy, would you mind checking her pocket?"

"Uh, do I have to? I don't-"

Chiron gestured for me to go. "Please, Percy."

I held a deep breath as I approached her body. The leaves around her were still stained a deep red and her face still held the same shocked expression.

_Please be in here, please be in here._

I reached into her right pocket and I felt the cool stones of Kronos' bracelet. Slowly, I pulled it out and held it up for Chiron to see.

"Alas, the rumors were true," Chiron muttered. "We will keep this a secret for now. Will, can you determine the time of death?"

The son of Apollo couldn't seem to tear his eyes off the body. "It would require an autopsy, but I can find out."

Chiron nodded before reaching into his saddlebag and taking out a large white blanket. In a matter of minutes, he had Drew wrapped up in a shroud and he nodded at Will.

"I will take her to the Big House. Please come as soon as you can," he said before turning to the rest of us. "We are going to keep this between us. Knowledge of Drew being a spy will give the Aphrodite Cabin a bad name, and the innocent do not deserve to be pegged as evil. As of today, Drew Tanaka remains missing."

We all nodded before Chiron galloped towards the Big House. Luke stepped up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I never liked that girl, but what a horrible end."

"Yeah. Who would've thought she was helping Kronos? I always thought the girl was way to frilly and shallow to be manipulative."

"I guess it's always the ones you'd never expect."

I felt chills down my spine.

None of the counselors present seemed very appetized as they simply headed back to their cabins, and I couldn't say I was very hungry, either. I headed for the canoe lake and prepared to dive in when a rainbow shimmered in front of me. I scowl instantly plastered on my face.

"Alabaster, what do you want?"

"Ah, Percy, I haven't heard from my little whore in a while. You didn't, say, kill her, did you?"

"What's it to you?" I growled.

"Not very hero of you to kill her like that, I must say. Quite the facade you're putting on, hm?"

"What do you want, Alabaster?"

"See, Percy, I pity you. Kronos promised you so much, but the minute he saw my talents, he tossed you aside like a broken toy. Now, you're left on the fence; too far gone to become a hero, and not given enough to commit to being a villain. Truly, I pity you."

"I don't see it that way."

Alabaster raised an eyebrow.

"You are nothing but an exam Kronos wants me to pass, a rite of passage to unlock my true potential. It is you who will be discarded in the end, and I'll make sure you enter the Underworld with your head removed from your shoulders."

Alabaster's cool expression cracked a little. "Interesting perspective, but no matter. I may have lost my spy, but I got all the information I needed. That Piper McLean is a pretty girl, I wouldn't mind having her all to myself."

My fingernails dug into my hand and blood dribbled down my wrist. "Don't you even think about it," I growled.

"Oh, I will, Percy; I think about her every night! Her beautiful eyes, luscious body-"

I ripped through the Iris Message and drew Riptide. The bronze shone in the morning sun and I clasped it as hard as I could.

Drew would not be the only mortal blood it would taste.

A/N: Hi! Sorry I've been out for so long, I had to finish around half my college apps before December 1st, so I didn't have the time or creative energy to continue this story. All of that aside, I'm almost done with apps and I have big things planned for this story. I hope you liked the taste of Dark Percy, because he'll be making his return very soon :) Please leave a review, and thanks for reading! -here2stxy


	8. The Golden Fleece

Chapter 8

Chiron eventually got around to telling the Camp of Drew's death, and to no surprise, nobody seemed too distraught over it. There were a few murmurs of disappointment, but they were not for the loss of a sibling or friend.

"...shame. She was pretty hot."

"Smoking body, that's for sure."

Piper didn't seem to know what to think. The girl who had bullied her constantly ever since her arrival at Camp had been killed, but she was also her half-sister. Piper's usually bright eyes were constantly clouded with unreadable emotions and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

I was busy hacking away at a sword dummy when I felt someone watching me. To my surprise, Silena was standing behind me with a strange look in her eyes.

"Hey, Percy. Do you mind if we talk?"

I capped Riptide and gestured with my hands. "Fire away. What can I help you with?"

"I think you'd want to talk about this in private."

I got the message and gestured for Silena to follow. I led her to the canoe lake before crossing my arms.

"You're going to need to trust me on this," I muttered before grabbing and tossing her into the lake. It didn't take long to find her thrashing in the water and I immediately took her hand. A bubble instantly surrounded us and we began to sink towards the bottom.

"Alright, what can I help you with?" Silena glared at me.

"A little warning would've been nice."

"Now, where's the fun in that?"

She shook her head before fixing me with a stare.

"You killed Drew."

It was more of a statement than a question and I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I did. She was leaking information about me to the enemy and I can't afford to have any weaknesses right now. What's it to you? From what I heard from Piper, you can't stand the girl."

"It's just...you killed someone. In cold blood."

I spun Riptide on my index finger. "Reckless exaggeration. I killed her because it was absolutely necessary. As a spy yourself, you know how dangerous it can be to have information to be leaked."

Silena frowned. "I'm afraid of where you're going, Percy. Drew may have been a witch at times, but the fact stands that you killed her. You promised me that helping Kronos would save demigods, not kill them!"

I stopped playing with Riptide and gave her a dark look. "Watch your place. You and I both work for Kronos, but you get your orders from me. Let's say I kept her alive; she would've continued to give Alabaster information about my strengths, my weaknesses, and the ones I love. I would've ended up dead, and presumably, he would either kill you for your affiliation with me or worse. You try and resist or hide? He'll kill your precious boyfriend. I kill out of necessity, Silena, and you would do well to remember the difference between that and murder."

Silena recoiled. "Who-Whose to say that Alabaster is so much worse than you are? Maybe he would be better off leading Kronos' army, I wouldn't know!"

I stared at her for a second before pointing at the bubble surrounding us. "You know, I thought I could trust your word, but it seems you're having some traitorous thoughts. I could burst this bubble right now and let you drown down here. Swear on the Styx that you will remain loyal to me or I'll be forced to kill my second daughter of Aphrodite."

Silena paled and sat silently. I raised an eyebrow before holding up a fist. "I unclench this fist and you will be taking your last suffocated breath at the bottom of this lake."

"I swear on the Styx to your terms," she squeaked. Thunder boomed overhead and I grinned.

"Excellent, now I won't have to kill you! You see, Silena? I only kill out of necessity."

Silena's face began to fill with color again. "You mentioned loved ones, but your mother is dead and you despise the gods," she mused before she snapped her fingers. "You have a crush on Piper, don't you?"

I tapped my chin a few times before snapping my fingers. The bubble around us burst and Silena's eyes widened in panic as she tried to swim for the surface.

I let her struggle for a few seconds before reforming the bubble around us. "Watch your tongue, daughter of Aphrodite. You haven't exactly been on my good side today," I said before flicking my wrist. The bubble shot out of the water and we landed on the dock next to the canoe lake.

"Now, get out of here. If you tell anyone about what I did to Drew...let's just say you likely won't live to betray me a second time."

Silena scrambled away and I felt a little guilt twinge my heart. Growing up with Gabe, I couldn't stand bullies, but the girl had left me with no choice but to threaten her given how treacherous her words had seemed.

_Remember what you're here to do; Friends aren't a priority, getting revenge on your father is._

An image of Piper and Luke flashed in my mind before I quickly shook my head a few times.

_Kronos is the priority, you can ask him for their amnesty later._

"Percy?"

I glanced behind me as another blonde girl approached me, though this one had gray eyes. "What can I do for you, Annabeth?"

"Luke is asking if you could meet him by the Camp entrance. He refuses to say anything about it except that his mission had already been approved by Chiron."

"Do I need to bring anything?"

Annabeth shook her head. "He says that you guys will be back in a few hours."

I shrugged and followed the daughter of Athena. "So, what've you been up to since coming back to Camp?" she said, her eyes drilling into mine.

Her stare made me feel a bit uncomfortable, seemingly taking my mind apart and analyzing every piece.

"I've actually been helping Piper with her fighting skills."

Annabeth grinned. "I'm guessing she's more than you can handle?"

"Please, as if anyone could handle me in the arena. She is progressing much faster than expected though, I'll give her that."

"What about the other kid with her? Leo, was it?"

"I haven't seen much of him ever since he holed up in the Hephaestus Cabin. From what I've heard he's a prodigy in the forge."

"His father is the god of blacksmithing, Percy. All of his children are."

I waved a hand at that. "Such pesky little details. Forge god or no, that kid has talent."

_At least, that's what Kronos seems to see. I can't see how he's any different from the rest of the Hephaestus bunch, either._

"Whatever you say," she said before pointing ahead of us. "Luke's over there. Try not to get yourselves killed out there."

I winked at her and waved Riptide around. "Anyone tries to kill me or Luke, and I'll draw on their face."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."

"Well, you're sophisticated."

"How is that an insult?"

I gave her a knowing smile. "Figure it out, Genius."

Annabeth's expression grew more puzzled as I walked away. "How is that an insult? Tell me!"

Luke spotted me before throwing me a grin. "Hey, Perce. We're going to be using the Camp van for this trip."

I raised an eyebrow. "They're letting you borrow it?"

Luke snorted before dangling the keys in front of my face. "Of course not. You think a son of Hermes borrows anything?"

Line Break

After an hour of talking, the two of us settled into a comfortable silence as Luke drove through the crowded streets of New York.

I was staring through the window at the looming buildings of my home when Luke cleared his throat.

"You haven't asked what we're doing, why we're doing it, or where we're going. Are you good?"

I gave him a shrug. "I trust that wherever you're taking me requires my services, so if you haven't mentioned it, I have no need to know."

Luke looked taken aback before grinning. "Thanks, Perce. No one trusts me that much. At least, not anymore."

I gave him a questioning glance. "What do you mean? Annabeth trusts you more than anyone."

Luke ran a hand through his hair. "I wouldn't be so sure. Have I ever told you how I got to Camp?"

I stayed silent and waited. "I ran away from home. My father was absent all my life while my mother went mad when he left. I had no idea where I was going, all I knew was that I couldn't stay at my house any longer. Monsters were always lurking, and the only weapon I had to defend myself with was an old baseball bat I found in my neighbor's garbage can."

A slight grin appeared on his scarred face. "One day, I was busy trying to fend off a hellhound with my stupid bat when a spear appeared in its side. It dissipated to dust and a girl picked up her spear. Her name was Thalia."

I let out a low whistle. "Badass."

Luke chuckled. "You got that right. She was a daughter of Zeus on the run from her deadbeat drunk of a mother. We were traveling together when we found Annabeth, who was a little girl at the time. The three of us shared everything, watched each other's backs, everything our parents could never do for us."

I noticed a small tear track running down his face. "One day, we were on the run from a large group of monsters. Our combined scent was enough to attract some nasty ones, and Grover had used it to track us down in an attempt to get us to Camp. We were cornered, and with Grover passed out, we had little hope; I thought it was all over, but Thalia gave me a look I'll never forget. She demanded I take Grover and Annabeth through the borders while she held the monsters back. The minute her eyes met mine, I knew there was no changing her mind. I didn't look back, not once."

Words were lost on me as Luke began to choke up. I had never seen Luke so vulnerable before; he had always seen him as a fearless leader, the perfect warrior who protected the innocent.

"As she began to die, a thunderbolt struck the monsters to dust and Thalia turned into a pine tree. Before, the Camp had been protected with the help of magic, but now, her tree stands as a stronger barrier to all monsters."

Luke wiped his tears away before staring me dead in the eyes. "That's where I need your help. While I was on my quest, I had a dream of Thalia. She was begging me for help, for life. In that dream, she told me how to free her from that cursed wooden prison; I need to place the Golden Fleece on a branch of her tree."

I suppressed the indignant retort bubbling in my throat. "Golden Fleece, like THE Golden Fleece? Jason and the Argonauts Golden Fleece?"

"The very same. With Annabeth's help, I found the location of Nereus, an old seer and your half-brother."

I gave him a look. "Why do you need me for this?"

"In order to get him to answer a question, you must capture him; his most common tactic is running into the sea where normal mortals and demigods can't follow, but using your ice powers, we can catch him off guard so I can grab him."

"Does Chiron know you're doing this?"

"Do you really think he'd let me do something like this?"

"Do you at least have an explanation to get us out of trouble once we get back?"

"I'll improvise. Trust a son of Hermes with that kind of stuff."

I thought about it before shrugging. "Fair enough."

Luke parked the car near a wharf and gave me a look. "You ready?"

"So how is this going to work?"

Luke pulled a backpack from the backseat. "That reminds me…"

I gagged as the smell of trash hit my nose.

"Just follow close by and freeze as much of the ocean as you can when he tries to get away."

I watched Luke from my spot on the wharf, waiting for him to give me a cue.

I was making sure to slowly follow him from afar when suddenly, a feeling of power ripped through my body, a power I had felt once before on a much larger scale; the power of the sea.

I turned my head and spotted an old man slumped on a bench, snoring loudly. Luke spotted him at the same time before he staggered towards him before purposefully tripping, sending his body onto his. Almost instantly, Nereus' eyes snapped open and he shoved Luke off of him.

The old man dove for the sea before I snapped my fingers. Instantly, his route of escape turned into a thick patch of ice. His face planted onto the ice before Luke dove onto him, pulling Nereus into a headlock.

I jogged up to the pair as Luke tried desperately to hold onto the old man. "Where is the Golden Fleece, Nereus? Where is it?!"

Nereus struggled before finally falling still. He glanced up at me and sent me a harsh look. "How could you help this filth assault your own half-brother?"

I raised my hands. "Sorry, dude, but I've never met you in my life. I'm just doing a favor for my friend."

Nereus turned his glare to Luke. "Alright, you win. One question per capture."

"Where is the Golden Fleece?"

Nereus chuckled darkly. "Ah, the Golden Fleece. You would sooner claim Zeus' Master Bolt than make it to the Fleece alive. It remains in Polyphemus' cave, located deep inside the Sea of Monsters."

"How do I get to Polyphemus' cave?"

"Ha! One question per capture, that is the rule! I'm free!"

Nereus dissipated into mist as Luke bellowed in frustration. "How am I supposed to find Polyphemus' cave? I'm no better than where I started!"

I stroked my chin. "Polyphemus is a Cyclops, correct?"

Luke groaned in response and flopped onto the ice. "I thought I could get Thalia back, but it's looking like that will be an impossible task. How the Hades would I find Polyphemus' cave?"

"I'll bet anything that my father knows exactly where he is. Cyclops are all children of Poseidon."

Luke sat up before rushing to me and grabbing my arms. "Perce, I know our parents are deadbeats and that you would rather do anything than interact with them, but can you please ask Poseidon where Polyphemus' cave is located? You won't have to go with me, I'll take care of everything after that. Please, Percy!"

I lightly shoved him off of me before shaking my head.

"You really want this Thalia girl back badly, don't you"

Luke dropped to his knees. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't bring her back knowing there was a way to do so. Please, Percy."

Even the thought of asking Poseidon for a favor made me grimace, but looking at Luke's broken expression reminded me of when my mother had been taken away from me.

"Do you know what her situation is in that tree? Is she dead?"

"She's in permanent stasis. Her life is connected to the life of that tree, and thus she is in a glorified coma."

"Alright, Luke. I'll do it."

Luke's eyes shot wide open before he tackled me in a hug. "Perce, you have no idea what this means to me!"

"I do, believe me. More than you will ever know."

Luke shuffled his feet awkwardly. "So, can you talk to him right now?"

I sighed. "The things I do for my friends, I swear. Wait here, I have no idea how long I'll be but stay right there."

Luke nodded and I dove into the ocean. Immediately, I felt my veins pulse with power and I closed my eyes, channeling as much mental energy as I could.

_Poseidon, where are you?_

I opened my eyes and waited for a bright flash announcing his presence, but the water remained calm and empty.

A chirp behind my back turned me around and I did a double-take. Standing before me was a large dolphin with what looked like a helm on its head.

"Hello, Perseus. My name is Delphin, and your father sent me here to pick you up."

"Uh, god of dolphins, I presume? Also, how are we going to get to my father?"

The dolphin rolled its eyes before gesturing with its flipper. Suddenly, we were standing, er, floating in a massive throne room. Green and blue coral decorated the ceilings like chandeliers and sitting on the throne was Poseidon himself.

"Percy?" he managed. "Why did you call for me?"

I gestured around me. "You know, you could've just come to me yourself instead of sending Delphin to teleport me to you so you could flex the 'oh so majestic' palace you lounged in while my mother and I were stuffed in a 2 bedroom apartment."

The god of the sea winced and Delphin swished his tail nervously. I pinched my eyes closed before taking a deep breath.

"Anyway, that's beside the point. I need a favor from you. Feel free to reject it since you're so used to denying your family of even basic necessities."

Delphin gestured towards me with his flipper. "Lord Perseus, it would be beneficial for you to-"

Poseidon raised a hand. "Delphin, please leave us. I must have a private talk with my son."

The god gave me a nervous look before swimming out a window. Poseidon screwed his eyes shut and put his face into his hands. "I've really done this to you, haven't I?"

"Yep, and you don't even know half of what my mother and I went through because you couldn't keep it in your pants."

Poseidon lifted his face and gave me a sad look. "What is this favor?"

"Where is Polyphemus' lair?"

Poseidon waved his hand before a map appeared out of thin air and drifted over to me. I slowly opened it and studied the contents.

"It's located in the heart of the Sea of Monsters. Getting to it would be a Hades of a task, much less taking the Golden Fleece from Polyphemus. For your safety, I beg that you would-"

I waved him off. "I'm asking this favor for a friend, he needs the Golden Fleece to save a friend of his. Besides, since when did my safety matter to you?"

Poseidon's shoulders sagged. "I don't deserve to be your father after all you've gone through-"

"Damn right, you don't."

"And I have no excuse for leaving you and your mother to such a horrible life. I don't expect or deserve to be forgiven, and I know you would never even dream of doing so, but I still love you, just as I loved Sally."

I expected anger to begin coursing through my veins, but staring into my father's eyes that were so similar to my own made me feel strange inside.

"I was bound by oath to abstain from having demigod children, and I had no plans of breaking it. One day, though, I saw your mother sitting on the beach, scribbling in a journal. I became intrigued and talked to her, only to find there was so much to her beneath her beautiful surface. So much more," he whispered.

"Leaving the two of you was the biggest mistake of my entire existence, not to mention the most cowardly. However, I knew deep down that no matter how much I wanted to stay, being there would only lead to the divine hunting you down to slay both of you. I thought I was doing the right thing, but in reality, it was merely a scapegoat. I should've protected the two of you at all costs, even at the cost of war."

A large lump was beginning to form in my throat, and I swallowed it as quickly as I could. "Y-Yeah, you should've. You should've saved me. Us. You should've saved us," I stammered.

Poseidon leaned on his trident, looking as if he had aged millennia. "Yet, in my foolish joke of an attempt at protecting the two of you inevitably led to suffering regardless."

Suddenly, he waved his hand and the map in my hands disappeared. Before I could utter a word, he vanished in a flash of bubbles.

I stared dumbfounded at the empty throne, trying to process everything he had said.

_There was never a question in my mind of what I thought about Poseidon, and what I wanted to do to him after this war. Why is his stupid monologue making me feel this way?_

I turned to leave when Poseidon reappeared, a shimmering gold bathrobe in his hand. "This is not a bribe or a pitiful attempt for forgiveness, but I knew Polyphemus would listen to his own father, so there's no need for your friend to go through a virtual hell trying to get this," he said before tossing me the fleece robe.

Suddenly, I felt a tug in my stomach as I shot through the water, flying far away from the palace with the look on Poseidon's face engraved in my head.

I burst through the surface of the ocean and landed on the wharf right next to Luke. The son of Hermes jumped away before his eyes bugged. "That's not-"

"It's the Golden Fleece. Apparently, all it took Poseidon was some small talk with his son to get this from him," I tossed him the fleece before striding towards the van, trying to ignore the tears budding in my eyes.

Line Break

Alabaster studied the card in his hand with a frown on his face, twirling its papery surface through his scarred fingers. Ever since his duel with Percy Jackson, he couldn't help but feel a little irritated.

The guy was strong, annoyingly strong. From what Alabaster saw, he had only been training for two or three months and still was a tough opponent for him, despite his years of practice with magic.

_Entitled son of a bitch, if he had been the child of a minor goddess, Kronos would never have even looked in his direction. I could've been the unquestioned leader of his army and ushered in the new Golden Age myself, but no, Poseidon just couldn't keep his hands to himself. Typical of an Olympian._

"Lord Alabaster?"

Alabaster looked up at the Cyclops poking its hideous head through his cabin door. "The _Princess Andromeda_ has laid anchor. Your army awaits your command."

"Alright, prepare the troops. We have a tough journey ahead of us, and I want you to brief the demigods on what to expect in the depths of Tartarus. Kronos' sarcophagus could be anywhere, and there's no telling how long we'll be down there."

"Yes, my lord."

The Cyclops disappeared and Alabaster cracked his knuckles. "Well, Percy, you have the best of both worlds right now; you're Kronos' favorite and a prodigy at Camp Half Blood, but we'll see just how much you have left once I'm through with you."

Alabaster snapped and the card in his hands burst into flames. He dropped the burning picture of Piper onto the ground as it began to disintegrate into cinders.

"Leading a double life is dangerous, Percy. You better pick a side before it's too late."

A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a while, but I recently finished college apps and I also got my first acceptance letter from Purdue! I'm going to do my best to start updating this story more often now that I have more time and I just want to say that I hope you guys are ready for a ride because I got things planned for this plot:))) Thanks again for your patience and support! Leave a review, like the story, and feel free to PM me any thoughts or advice you may have! -here2stxy


	9. Please Read This

Hi all. I'm letting you guys know that this story will be discont-

HAHA! Jokes! I really got you, didn't I?

To be fair, I haven't uploaded a chapter in months, but hey, life is complicated!

Yes, I know quarantine should've given me plenty of time to write, but I was feeling super unmotivated and depressed because of how awful my senior year was going, boohoo, give me a tissue.

Anyway, I also had a lot of college stuff to finish up since I'm moving to NYU next month and living in California for most of my life left me severely unprepared.

That all being said, **this story will continue**. I'm currently writing the 9th chapter but it's taking some time since I wrote a few pages and stopped, which completely cut my rhythm and now I have to read my entire story again to get a feel for where I was going.

Needless to say, I'm well and healthy and ready to write, and I hope you all are doing well too!

Cheers to any of y'all heroes without capes fighting covid out there!

-here2stxy


	10. Betrayal

Chapter 9

Chiron could be a little stiff at times, but I had never seen the old horse so mad. "Not only did the two of you have the audacity to leave Camp borders without permission, but you stole one of the Camp vans?!"

Luke rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I prefer the word 'borrowed'. After all, I did give the keys back to you."

Chiron screwed his eyes shut before taking a deep breath. "And what, pray tell, was your reason for breaking so many Camp rules?"

Luke opened the door of the van and pulled out the Golden Fleece. "I found a way to free Thalia, and I needed Percy to help me achieve my goal. I dragged him into it, he deserves no punishment."

Chiron gasped in surprise. "How-How did you get that?"

"Courtesy of Percy's father, himself."

The old centaur paled. "By the gods…"

I nodded at Luke and he headed over to Thalia's pine.

"This better work," he muttered before draping the fleece over a branch. The bark began to glow, and campers stopped what they were doing to gather around the tree.

"So beautiful," Piper's voice whispered from beside me.

"Who would've thought that the daughter of Aphrodite would have a taste in beauty?"

Piper elbowed me in the ribs and I winced. "That hurt!"

"I think you need to be put in your place once in a while. You should thank me."

Suddenly, the golden aura around the tree magnified, blasting everyone back a few feet. I felt the light sear into my corneas as a wave of power rebrevated through the air.

I sat up and groaned, blinking bright spots from my eyes. Suddenly, a happy cry filled my ears.

"Thalia!"

Luke had dropped down beside an unconscious girl dressed in a black leather jacket and ripped jeans. Her spiky hair fell past her shoulders and spike-studded bracelets surrounded her wrists.

I couldn't help but smile a little. _You deserve this, Luke, for everything you've done for me to fit in._

I glanced to my side and saw Piper sprawled across the grass rubbing her eyes. "You good there, Princess McLean?"

She wiped away a few tears before sending a harsh glare at me. "Call me that again, and I'll shove my knife down your throat," she said before glancing at the girl Luke was cradling in his arms. "Who is that?"

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. She's been stuck as a tree for years, but it's looking like she'll be ok," Chiron said as he cantered forward. "Luke, if you would take her to the medical bay, we can assess any injuries she may have."

Luke nodded quickly before picking Thalia up and rushing away, with the entire Apollo cabin in tow.

"Do you have any idea what your father has done?" Chiron asked as he made his way over to me.

I rubbed my eyes a few times before standing up. "Uh, give me a present?"

"It's against the Ancient Laws for Olympians to meddle in the quests of demigods. He-"

I waved him off. "The Ancient Laws don't mean squat. Wasn't it against the Ancient Laws for the gods to have me or Thalia?"

"That was an oath, Percy."

I crossed my arms. "Even more reason to keep it, don't you think?"

The old horse stroked his beard. "Percy, I-"

I held up a hand. "Listen, my _father_ abandoned me and my mother, and my _father _left her to die. I think he can afford to have a few curses laid on him for helping me, don't you think?"

Chiron opened his mouth to say something but I spun around and stormed off.

_Where does Poseidon get off just handing out presents to me like that will make things better? All of his bogus apologies and pity, he can go to Tartarus._

Something kept tugging in my gut and I growled in frustration. _Stupid asshole, making things complicated. _

I felt a small hand grab my wrist and I stopped walking. "Hey, are you ok?"

I took a deep breath and turned around. "Nothing about my life is 'ok', Piper."

She offered me a small smile. "Ditto, Percy. I know you haven't exactly been living it up these past few years, but maybe it'll help you to know you're not alone."

Piper sighed before glancing at the ground. "My dad's a movie star. He's constantly working on set or on the phone, and he never has time to spend with me. It's always his assistant, Jane, who is taking me places and coming to school events. Things would've been better if she wasn't the biggest asshole I've ever met. I wanted my dad to pay attention to me, even just a little, so I stole things. Well, charmspoke people into giving me things, but same difference."

"So you only stole because you wanted to feel loved?"

"Well, I did it for his attention. I mean, my dad's work as an actor prevents me from ever needing anything. I could just ask Jane for anything and she would put in the order on the same day,"

Piper's eyes began to water and she turned away. "I know I didn't lose my dad the way you lost your mom to that monster of a step-father, but it feels like I never really had either my dad or mom. It's always just me and Jane."

I felt my heart sting a little bit and my hand curled into a fist. Why couldn't fathers just do their stupid jobs and take responsibility?

"It wasn't always like that, though. Before we moved to California and made a breakthrough as an actor, we had a pretty modest life and he always made time for me. Every night, he'd read books about Greek mythology to me, and sometimes, he'd even talk about Mom. I would give anything to have that again, anything."

I felt the bracelet in my shoe grow hot and I could almost hear Kronos egging me on. _Now's your chance! Bring her to me!_

I opened my mouth but the words that came out weren't at all what I expected to say. "You want to come with me to the city tomorrow?" I blurted out.

Piper looked up from her shoes. "What?"

"I want to show you around. You grew up on the west coast, right? I promise you that you haven't lived until you experienced New York City."

Piper gave me a small smile. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

I flushed a little bit. "N-No, not a date! Just like a, uh, friendly gathering? I mean friendly date? No, I mean-"

She laughed and lightly slapped my shoulder. "I'm just messing with you, Percy. I'd love to go with you."

_Calm down, stupid heart. It's just as friends. _"Great! Uh, I'll meet you at your cabin around 9 a.m. in the morning?"

"Don't be late. I'm expecting you to be punctual since this our first date and all," she smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't. I'll be, you know, super on time."

"Perfect, I'll be eagerly awaiting your tour," Piper gave me a small wave then headed towards her cabin.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and slapped my forehead. Of course I had to be a total geek in front of a girl.

_Whatever. It may not have been pretty, but it got the job done._

All of a sudden, I felt my stomach plummet to my feet and the world turned upside down. I blinked a few times and realized that I wasn't at Camp anymore.

"What the Hades? Why is everything so...pink?"

"Because I teleported you to my palace, dear Percy."

I turned around and came face to face with the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her hair was a deep, shiny brown and her eyes couldn't seem to decide on a color to stick too.

_Just like Piper._

"Lady Aphrodite."

"Oh, you can drop the Lady. I'm here to talk as a friend. Now, why don't we sit down?"

A coffee table and two chairs swirled into existence on the velvet carpet. A plate of scones and a pot of tea sat on top with two napkins laid out.

I cautiously sat down and Aphrodite took a pastry. "You should try one. I'm quite good at conjuring the tastiest morsels."

"Uh, I'm good, thanks. So, what do you need me here for, again?"

"That bracelet in your shoe is quite tasteless, if I'm to be frank. Schemes of gray are so drab and overdone."

I felt a chill go down my spine. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Aphrodite gave me a smile through the crumbs on her face. "Please, Percy. There's no need to lie to me, I am on your side, after all."

On my side? Aphrodite wasn't a true Olympian as she was really a daughter of Ouraneus, but I still decided that a cautious approach would be the best way to go about things.

"You mean the gods?"

"Don't play dumb with me, we both know you're working for Kronos. If I wanted to rat you out, I would've done it already. Now, _relax."_

My arms instantly fell to my side and I felt every muscle in my body loosen.

_Damn charmspeak._

"If you're not going to snitch or kill me, why'd you bring me here?"

"I'm here to offer my help, of course."

"Why would you help me? I thought the Olympians don't care about their children."

Aphrodite snorted. "Please, I'm hardly an Olympian. No one ever listens to me since I'm the glitzy, glamorous, and shallow goddess of beauty. My input wouldn't have meaning, no, no."

Her eyes began to glow an ethereal red and her hair darkened into a pitch black. "Believe me, I want to tear down those self-centered pigs as much as Kronos does."

"So, are you in it with him too?"

"I don't follow anyone's agenda but my own, but Kronos' plans align pretty closely with mine."

I let out a little sigh of relief. "The enemy of my enemy?"

"Exactly. Regardless, I did not bring you here to complain about my grievances; I would like to bargain for your allegiance."

I stood up and backed away from the goddess. "If you're asking me to betray Kronos, you're out of your mind."

She merely raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Percy, I know Kronos' plans to put you up against that little son of Hectae. You do understand what he's doing, don't you?"

"He told me that he is pitting us against one another so he can have the strongest leader possible for his army."

Aphrodite laughed and gave me a look that seemed to pitifully shake its head. _Oh you poor fool._

"You do realize that Kronos still isn't powerful enough to fully manifest into a physical form, right? Pulling his remains from the depths of Tartarus is mere child's play in the act that is reforming from the void."

"How did you-"

"I have children at Camp, Percy, and they tell me all I need to know."

My eyes narrowed. "Silena."

"Bingo. She is my daughter, did you think she'd refuse allegiance to her own mother?"

I didn't say anything. "Kronos plans to use the strongest of the two of you to hold his essence. You'll be his host, per say."

My eyebrows knit together. "A host?"

"Well, temporary host. He'll use you as a physical conduit until his spirit is regenerated enough to give him his true body."

"I'm willing to offer him time in my body for him to reform. It's the least I could do for the rewards I'd reap."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "He would reward you handsomely if you were alive, but your body will not be able to contain the form of a true Titan and hosting him will ultimately kill you."

"You're lying."

Aphrodite shrugged. "You can do your research, or maybe ask one of those snotty Athena children. No one pays a dead bounty hunter, no matter how well they completed their objective."

I paled. "He-He promised me-"

"Kronos isn't called the Crooked One for nothing, but I don't blame you for falling for his tricks. He can be quite convincing."

My eyes fell to the floor and I buried my face in my hands.

"Listen, Percy. There is a way to get what you want, and more."

I narrowed my eyes. "What makes you any better?" I snarled.

"Well, for starters, I can't do much worse than cause your body to combust from the stress of carrying a Titan. Secondly, you'll get to take down the gods yourself, not as some puppet in the backseat as Kronos literally dictates your every move. Also, what's not to trust about me? I have the same motives and goals you do, you really don't think I will treat you with respect?"

"Kronos said the same-"

"Kronos is a mad Titan who wants to destroy the gods and all of humanity along with them. I am a goddess who has been ignored and put down by the Council for millenia. You can take my word over his anyday."

I clasped my icy hands together. I could almost feel blood vessels bursting in my arms. "I already swore a deal on the Styx, there isn't much I can do to get out of Kronos' offer anyway."

Aphrodite's eyes glowed. "I can get you out of that, too, if you'll just accept my offer."

"A broken oath on the Styx leads to worse than death, how can I trust you any more than I can Kronos? From what it seems, I'm destined to be destroyed either way."

She snorted. "Watch this," she clapped her hands together and a door beside us creaked open. An elderly nymph walked through the doorway and waved a hand. A black, creaky chair appeared next to Aphrodite and the woman sat down next to her.

"I am Styx, goddess of the river."

I felt sweat form in my palms and I quickly wiped them on my pants. "Uh, hello?"

Aphrodite gave me a smirk. "You see, Percy, the Olympians make deals on Styx's river all the time, and they break them with no regard to the consequences considering the fact they're immortal. If they followed their own oaths, you wouldn't be here talking to me, no?"

"Don't tell me she's in on this, too."

Aphrodite smirked. "I am merely offering her retribution for the gods throwing her name around like trash. A goddess like her, stuck in Tartarus with nothing to do. However, she is willing to let just one oath slide in return for the soul of one of the Olympians. I could free you from Kronos' grasp right now."

I felt like a ton of bricks had dropped off my shoulders. "What god would you give her?"

"Obviously Ares. The pig sees me as nothing but a piece of meat. It won't be hard to trap him considering he can't go for more than a week without seeing me."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll work with you."

Aphrodite clapped her hands. "Perfect! Now, for my terms; you serve me and me only, even at the cost of your life. That's it! Now, what're yours?"

Something about her asking for my terms made me feel that this deal was the right one. "I get to-" Something nicked my heart when the words ' kill Poseidon' formed in my mouth. I wasn't ready to tackle those emotions yet, so I decided to play it safe. "I get to do what I want with my father. The rest of the Olympians will be up to you."

Aphrodite nodded. "Fair enough, I'm sure you want some 'quality time' with your father before you send him to Tartarus. Anything else?"

"Any friends of mine are going to be spared. That includes Luke, Thalia, Leo, Piper, and anyone else I choose."

Aphrodite hesitated before giving me a bright smile. "Of course."

My eyes narrowed a bit but I decided that now wasn't the time to irk the goddess of beauty holding my oath to Kronos in her palm.

"Those are my terms."

"Loyal to your family, I'd expect nothing less from a son of Poseidon. Now repeat after me, 'I swear my loyalty to Aphrodite, who will be bound by my terms, on the Styx."

"I swear my loyalty to Aphrodite, who will be bound by my terms, on the Styx."

Thunder boomed and Styx gave Aphrodite a look. "I'll be expecting Ares in my river, or that boy will be."

Aphrodite waved her off. "Don't worry, I'm just as excited as you are for you to have his soul."

Styx disappeared in a flash of water and Aphrodite turned towards me.

"Now, where to begin?"

Line Break

The minute I felt my feet plant on Camp soil, I stumbled into my cabin and collapsed into the bed. Aphrodite had briefed me on who to trust at Camp, and given the fact that I knew who Kronos' spies were, she had told me to take them out as soon as I could; news couldn't break out that I had changed allegiances.

More importantly, my friends were safe, my goal was intact, and I now had a more trustworthy deity to serve.

_Life could be worse than it is right now._

I dug Kronos' bracelet out of my sock and studied it. Destroying it now would likely alert Kronos and I couldn't have him know about my betrayal just yet; I'd have to kill off a few campers first.

_It'd be best to take them out all at once; I can't have any stragglers._

Given that Aphrodite had a full-fledged physical form, contacting her was very simple.

_Lady Aphrodite?_

"_Yes, Percy?"_

_Would you mind giving me a few little, ah, surprises to take out Kronos' spies? I'm planning on calling a meeting with them soon._

"_Check beneath your bed. Good luck."_

I knelt down and pulled a small box from underneath my mattress. I opened the lid and grinned. _Perfect. A little painful, but perfect._

I tapped Kronos' bracelet twice. "Meet me at Zeus' Fist right now. We have matters to discuss."

I stuffed the box in my pocket and threw a hoodie on. The Camp weather was usually kept pretty mild, but I didn't want to be identified by any Campers or harpies.

I briskly walked through the Camp's forest before I spotted a large pile of rocks that looked more like giant deer droppings than a fist. My fellow spies had already gathered and looked at me expectantly. Most of them were unclaimed and thus weren't easily distinguished at Camp.

_Sorry you got stuck in the same trap I did, but I have to do this for me._

A redheaded boy stepped up to me. "What is it sir, news from Kronos?"

"Yes, he told me to thank you all for your service."

I drew the box out of my pocket. "He told me to give you these."

The boy took the box out of my hand greedily and opened it. Immediately, a blue shape darted out and latched onto his face. More shapes began to leap onto the spies and they began to scream.

I made my way towards each of them, stabbing them in their chests and effectively silencing their screams.

After a gruesome few minutes, I took a few steps back and stared at the pit scorpions in awe. They had already made quick work of the spies' corpses and were beginning to crawl towards me.

I raised a hand and the pond beside us exploded, drowning the insects and sweeping the remaining bones back into the pond.

"Dead men tell no tales," I whispered before turning to head back to my cabin, only to see a goddess staring at me with an unreadable expression in her eyes.

"Perseus, what are you doing?"

A/N: Finally finished this chapter, quick pro tip: if you ever write, don't go on a hiatus for a few months. Catching up on your own story is the most time-consuming and mind-numbing thing ever.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because it was pretty fun to write. It wasn't the direction I had originally intended, but it actually works out well with my future plans for the story. Leave a review with any suggestions for the story, and I hope you have an amazing and safe day! Wear your masks! -here2stxy


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